This optimistic article points to an issue felt acutely in “inner cities” around the country: a lack of fresh produce being sold at market.  This problem was controversially or famously addressed in my city by the New York City Green Cart initiative but this certainly hasn’t solved it and plenty of other cities have the same issues (NYC isn’t even mentioned in the article, though LA, Newark and Detroit are, and the article is mainly about Chicago.)  Could it be that looking to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s as examples, however, are more detrimental than good?  As big a supporter of organics as I am, I think encouraging people to eat “conventional” produce would be a big boon over Mickey-D’s and would be a lot cheaper and easier than the “greenest” route.  Even frozen produce makes a nice, healthy, easy and inexpensive meal most of the time.The article makes no qualms about the featured woman’s claim that the oranges in the market near her house have “brown spots” on them.  She and I may envision different things when we say “brown spots on oranges” but I think part of the goal of programs like New York’s should be to re-educate people.  A spot on an orange is perfectly natural and not such a big deal.  Those of us who have eaten manufactured foods most of our lives have come to expect blemish-free food that is identical to yesterday’s edition in color, shape and size, but readers of this blog know this is not how natural food looks–or tastes.  In trying to bring together organics and a beautiful shopping experience, I imagine Whole Foods must throw away a ridiculous amount of produce.  Some would flame me for saying this, but I don’t have the language to better state it:  Produce is simply not always gorgeous and organics all the more-so.

[There is a practice of saying a blessing upon seeing an "unusual-looking" person (to say ugly insults the Creator--see Talmud Bavli, Ta'anit 20a-b or refer to Lenny Bruce's supposed "if anything about the human body disgusts you, complain to the Manufacturer.")  We say, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who makes all creatures different."  ברוך אתה ה' אלקנו מלך העולם משנה הבריות  Perhaps we should institute a new Berakha of sorts to be said upon seeing "different-looking" produce, too.]

I don’t know if or how well the Green Carts are working; all I know is that one is permanently positioned on my old corner which, though not very well-maintained, is a piece of litter’s throw from a real (by urban standards) supermarket with a formidable produce area and a very large independent market with produce, flowers and even a sushi-making area.  What’s more, it’s only a few blocks from the Park Slope Food Coop and the Grand Army Plaza farmers’ market (nebukh, on Shabbes.)  There doesn’t seem to be any lack of produce available in the area.  I imagine the vendor located his cart there because the same market forces that make produce an un-lucrative option in poorer neighborhoods make his business prospects bad there, too.  But it means that the communities the program was designed to benefit aren’t getting any new options.  Not from that guy, at least.