About Fresh Bodegas The Fresh Bodegas Initiative is a collaboration among GrowNYC’s Greenmarket, the Strategic Alliance for Health, Red Jacket Orchards, and community and public health partners. Our aim is to increase New Yorkers’ access to fresh, locally-grown, affordable produce by reaching customers where they already shop: corner stores and bodegas. To do this we provide free refrigerators to participating stores and make weekly deliveries of local and seasonal fruits, vegetables, and fruit juices. The Fresh Bodegas Initiative builds off of the success of the NYC Department of Health’s Healthy Bodegas Initiative, which works with stores to promote the availability of healthier alternatives such as low-fat milk and low-sodium canned goods. Consumer demand for healthier options is rising and these vital programs help businesses accommodate that change. As Fresh Bodegas grows, it will provide important retail opportunities for regional farmers, boosting farmer revenues and local economies. How it Works Our community partners help us identify store owners who are committed to creating a healthier environment. Once owners are signed on and refrigerators are in a prominent position in the store, we begin weekly deliveries of fresh produce and fruit juices. Vegetables come exclusively from regional farms, by way of the Wholesale Greenmarket in Hunts Point. The fruit and the all-natural, no-sugar-added fruit juice come from Red Jacket Orchards. All participating stores start out on the consignment model. We recognize that it takes time for customers to get into the habit of buying produce from a bodega. We want to ensure that store owners never take a loss. The Fresh Bodegas team offers stores support with merchandising and we provide signage as well as outreach and promotional activities. Together with bodega owners and staff we work to increase sales, and ultimately, health outcomes. Five stores in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, are participating in Fresh Bodegas, and we now have added four stores in Central Harlem. For more information, please contact Crilhien Francisco at 212.996.8686 or via email at cfrancisco@nycsafh.org.