Produce truck encourages healthy eating
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Produce truck encourages healthy eating
| Tue, 08-11-2009 - 11:13am |
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzHoCOJIzZNClXLheV146mBxZvvAD9A0NUB00
"Produce truck encourages healthy eating in Detroit
By DAVID RUNK (AP) – 43 minutes ago
DETROIT — In a neighborhood served by 26 liquor stores but only one grocery, a community group is peddling fresh fruits and vegetables like ice cream.
Five days a week, the Peaches & Greens truck winds its way through the streets as a loudspeaker plays R&B and puts out the call: "Nutritious, delicious.
Brought right to you. We have green and red tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes. We have greens, corn on the cob and cabbage, too."
The truck set up like a small market brings affordable produce to families on public assistance, homebound seniors and others who can't reach the well-stocked grocery chains in the suburbs.
Experts call Detroit a food desert: More than half of its residents must travel at least twice as far to reach the nearest grocery store as they do to a fast-food restaurant or convenience store, according to a study by Chicago-based Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group. Many shop at liquor stores and corner markets that carry few, if any, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Others who have studied the city say people in developing countries can more easily get fresh produce.
The lack of fresh food is a public health problem in Detroit, which has one of the nation's highest obesity rates. Other cities also are struggling with obesity, diabetes and other illnesses tied to diets high in calories and sugar. They're trying a variety of ways to solve the problem, from adding pushcart vendors who sell fresh fruits and vegetables in New York to a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in part of Los Angeles. A growing number of farmers markets nationwide are accepting food stamps."
(article continues...)
Good to see something positive! ;) I just had no idea that in an urban area a grocery store wasn't easily available. WOW! :O But 26 booze stores? YIKES! (shaking head)
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(

"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator

Dog fighting is cruelty, which is a human activity and a human illness.
It's not the dog's fault.
All dogs need to be evaluated as individuals."
--Tim Racer, one of BAD RAP's founders
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/

Mika Dog
"All things share the same breath;
the beast, the tree, the man.
The Air shares its spirit with
all the life it supports."
--Chief Seattle
"If there are no dogs in Heaven,
then when I die I want to go where they went."
~Will Rogers
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~~Mahatma Gandhi

"Life is a state of mind." ~~from Being There.
"Produce truck encourages healthy eating in Detroit
By DAVID RUNK (AP) – 43 minutes ago
DETROIT — In a neighborhood served by 26 liquor stores but only one grocery, a community group is peddling fresh fruits and vegetables like ice cream.
Five days a week, the Peaches & Greens truck winds its way through the streets as a loudspeaker plays R&B and puts out the call: "Nutritious, delicious.
Brought right to you. We have green and red tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes. We have greens, corn on the cob and cabbage, too."
The truck set up like a small market brings affordable produce to families on public assistance, homebound seniors and others who can't reach the well-stocked grocery chains in the suburbs.
Experts call Detroit a food desert: More than half of its residents must travel at least twice as far to reach the nearest grocery store as they do to a fast-food restaurant or convenience store, according to a study by Chicago-based Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group. Many shop at liquor stores and corner markets that carry few, if any, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Others who have studied the city say people in developing countries can more easily get fresh produce.
The lack of fresh food is a public health problem in Detroit, which has one of the nation's highest obesity rates. Other cities also are struggling with obesity, diabetes and other illnesses tied to diets high in calories and sugar. They're trying a variety of ways to solve the problem, from adding pushcart vendors who sell fresh fruits and vegetables in New York to a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in part of Los Angeles. A growing number of farmers markets nationwide are accepting food stamps."
(article continues...)
Good to see something positive! ;) I just had no idea that in an urban area a grocery store wasn't easily available. WOW! :O But 26 booze stores? YIKES! (shaking head)
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(

"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator

Dog fighting is cruelty, which is a human activity and a human illness.
It's not the dog's fault.
All dogs need to be evaluated as individuals."
--Tim Racer, one of BAD RAP's founders
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/

Mika Dog
"All things share the same breath;
the beast, the tree, the man.
The Air shares its spirit with
all the life it supports."
--Chief Seattle
"If there are no dogs in Heaven,
then when I die I want to go where they went."
~Will Rogers
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~~Mahatma Gandhi

"Life is a state of mind." ~~from Being There.

I've read before about the lack of fresh foods available in some of the poorer areas. This leads to high obesity rates often with those that receive public assistance.
I noticed the article mentions "sugar" but if you're a label reader you'll notice there's very little actual sugar in prepared food instead there's fructose.
>"Everyone should limit the amount of sugar they ingest. But according to an article in SF Gate, “The body processes the fructose in high fructose corn syrup differently than it does old-fashioned cane or beet sugar, which in turn alters the way metabolic-regulating hormones function. It also forces the liver to kick more fat out into the bloodstream.”"< Segment from........
High Fructose Corn Syrup Vs. Pure Sugar - Is One Worse Than The Other?
http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/09/10/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-pure-sugar-is-one-worse-than-the-other/
Our First Lady's White House garden has drawn attention to the benefits of fresh veggies & fruits.