Green Cart Initiative Having Tough Time in "Food Deserts"

Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitchcakes/4277452332/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bitchcakesny</a>

Despite dispatching 84 fresh produce carts all over Brooklyn, those located in low-income areas aren't doing so well. Though they're often one of the only places to find fresh fruit and vegetables in the area, one vendor in Bed-Stuy told the Daily News that in a half hour "I haven't sold one penny." The city made 350 permits available for carts in Brooklyn, but has been having a hard time getting vendors to bite, with food policy coordinator Ben Thomases already having said, "It's a good business...you are not going to get rich doing it." Well, with that kind of endorsement...

Maybe the problem is that more vendors just don't have that gung-ho ingenuity that Bushwick vendor Amerfi Paulino uses to get fruit sold. He makes over $400 on good days, and says he saw business boom after installing a food stamp machine at his cart. He also placed himself in a prime location, with one regular saying she would have to walk six or seven blocks to the nearest grocery store, where the produce is generally not so great.

However, other vendors say the competition is tough when there are supermarkets, even if they don't have a great selection. "It's no good," said vendor Mohammed Shahjahan. "I'll try one more year." The program made over 1,000 fruit cart permits available, but so far only 326 have been issued.