Farm fresh fruit and produce may not be the first things that come to mind in amongst city skyscrapers. However, local farmers (and enterprising entrepreneurs) are cutting out the middlemen and selling direct to consumers. In open air markets, fruits stands and stalls, or even in subway stations, these semi-permanent vendors offer unique and local, exotic, and definitely convenient ways to get your recommended daily five servings of fruits and veggies.
For expats who live overseas especially in Asia, open air markets and food stands are familiar sights. Picking up ingredients for the makings of a meal is a daily event to ensure the absolute freshest. Locally grown and produced also means less environmental costs. In cities across North America, local farmers are selling their wares in open air markets and also visibly supplying restaurants and groceries. The awareness of local and organic is becoming the healthy and environmentally friendly norm if not the standard. Local Harvest can help you locate the farmer’s markets and in your city and the restaurants and shops that use the produce. GrowNYC has similar listings for New York City as well as other environmentally friendly resources. New York City is actually making an effort to increase the number of fruit carts (Green Carts) as a means to combat obesity and promote healthier eating.
In New York City, there seems to be just as many fruit stands as hot dog carts. The national awareness of healthy eating has created a new market for apples and oranges — snacks on the go can be healthy, nutritious and less fattening. And if you’re interested in the more exotic types of fruits, head down to your city’s ethnic areas. In New York’s Chinatown, a number of corners along Canal Street, specifically Canal and Mulberry, fruit and produce stands operate almost year round. Similarly, under the Manhattan Bridge along Forsyth Street are some of the cheapest produce sellers in the city.
Find cheap produce on Forsyth St. under the Manhattan Bridge in NYC (13 mangoes for $3!)
Depending on the time of year, you can get the usual items: apple (all varieties), orange, clementine, mandarin, banana, pear (including the Asian varieties), red and green grapes, all kinds of berries, and cherries. You can also get: mango, durian, custard apple, rambutan, jackfruit, mangosteen lichee, longan (a.k.a.dragoneye), dragonfruit (a.k.a. pitaya), starfruit, guava, persimmon, papaya, and pomelo. You can also buy coconut prepped for drinking and sugarcane prepped for chewing. Of course these are not “local” products — not for NYC — but having tastes of the world brought to you is certainly worth the effort of trying and buying.
