By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
EAST HARLEM — It took less than 11 minutes for one hundred pounds of potatoes and beans to be doled out to residents who lined up at 116th Street and Lexington Avenue Tuesday afternoon.
That's not a bad start, say organizers, to a new program called Nourishing Kitchen of NYC, that plans on giving away 100 pounds of fruits and veggies every Tuesday in East Harlem.
"One of the main problems in Harlem is that produce is expensive," said Gina Puzzanghera, Executive Chef and Director of the soup kitchen and pantry.
"I live in East Harlem and I stopped by the grocery store and a pint of strawberries was $6, that's more than if you go downtown."
The kitchen, which also provides hot meals and healthy cooking workshops, relies on partnerhships with growers and donations to provide the produce.
Even though they're surrounded by fast food restaurants, residents of East Harlem live in a 'food desert' where fresh and nutritious foods are hard to come by, Puzzanghera said.
The lack of healthy choices in part contributed to the neighborhood having an obesity rate of 30 percent in 2003, Reuters reported.
In an effort to address the food problem, Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a "Green Cart" program for sellers to establish affordable produce kiosks in 2008.
Although not affiliated with the "Green Cart" program, Puzzanghera hopes her efforts also get residents to change their food lifestyle.
"It's about teaching people that they deserve to have the food that everyone's having," she said. "Just because you're poor doesn't mean you don't deserve to have nutritious choices."
