To increase access to healthy foods for residents in low-income neighborhoods, the New York City Health Department kicked off the Healthy Bodegas Initiative in December to bring produce grown in the state to city bodegas. About 60 grocery stores in East Harlem and the South Bronx were the first to receive free shipments of fresh, ready-to-eat local carrots and apples that would be sold at a discount to customers. If store owners want to continue carrying the snacks, they can re-order them from the distributor.

The city Health Department worked with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and the locally based Bodega Association of the United States to arrange the shipments as a result of surveys that found most food stores in low-income areas carried few, if any, fresh fruits and vegetables, and that 20 percent of the neighborhoods' residents reported eating no fruits or vegetables the previous day.