This isn’t exactly a brand-new concept, but the NYTIMES 05.25.07 feature on “Veggie Mobiles” traveling through food deserts seems like an exciting, albeit temporary and non-systemic, solution.

I’ve recently had a number of conversations about the role of the ice cream man in childhood. Despite the fact that I was privileged to grow up on a street that the ice cream truck did frequent daily, my “health nut” mother relegated actual purchases from the truck to highly rare novelties. Therefore, while I know that the concept of a vehicle driving around neighborhoods selling food isn’t exactly a comprehensive or sustainable solution to anything, I definitely see potential for “veggie mobiles” around the country, in lieu of Mr. Softee’s monopoly.

Perhaps this hasn’t been tried before, because of the common misconception that kids only like unhealthy foods, which was shattered by David Kamp’s article in Wednesday’s NYTimes Dining Section about the horrors of traditional children’s menus and a new movement towards serving children real food instead of the dreaded “fingers.” Like Kamp, I was usually given smaller portions of what everyone else was eating, and didn’t have a problem with this. In fact, with regard to exciting grown-up restaurant foods, I was always told that “my eyes were bigger than my stomach.” In addition to the more innovative children’s menus, hopefully more restaurants will follow the trend of offering half portions of regular menu items, an option I have always appreciated.