Detroit Peddling Produce Like Ice Cream


Associated Press

In a U.S. 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.

"The truck delivery system is one that makes sense in Detroit because of the spread-out situation and the lack of transportation that reaches food venues," said Dave D. Weatherspoon, an associate professor at Michigan State University. "We thought that was a pretty good place to get started."

Peaches & Greens has community gardens, where volunteers grow greens, tomatoes and other vegetables to help stock the truck. The food also is offered at a neighborhood produce market, and organizers hope to persuade liquor stores and corner markets to stock their vegetables.

"People will buy it," said Lisa Johanon, executive director of the nonprofit Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corp., which runs Peaches & Greens. "We've seen the stereotype that urban communities won't eat healthy, and we're seeing that isn't true."

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