Montreal dpanneurs to offer fresh fruit, veggies

A quick stop at the dpanneurusually means junk foodbut couldnow include fresh fruits and vegetables.

Projet Dpanneur Fracheur, a local collective,aims to infiltrate Montreal's food deserts withhealthy and affordable produce.

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Louis Drouin, who works for the Montreal public healthy authority, said there are 900 dpanneurs in the city and a large portion of them are located in underprivileged neighbourhoods or areas where access to produce is scarce.

Six out of 10 Montrealers don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, according to Drouin.

"About 40 per cent of Montreal's population doesn't have access to fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables within walking distance,"Drouinsaid.

Accessibility, price and proximity are hurdles when it comes to urban dwellers acquiring fresh produce andit's a growingproblem in citycentres across North America.

The project wasinspired by theHealthy Corner Store Initiative in Philadelphia, Pa., where corner storesoffer fruits and vegetables in communities that lack supermarkets.

"The more an environment offers quality products, the more people will adopt better healthyhabits,"Drouinsaid.

A growing movement

Small kiosks are set up at nine different accrediteddpanneursin Montreal andoffereverything from lettuce to pears.

ProjetDpanneurFracheurmay be small but it is alreadywidespread with businesses located in Lachine, St-Henri,Bordeaux-Cartierville and theCentre-Sudneighbourhood arequickly joining the movement.

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Each dpanneurhas a white sticker on the door to indicate the availability of fresh produce and they also offer recipe cards.

ric Delisle, who lives inCentre-Sud, already takes advantage ofa fresh food stand at his corner store.

"It's very practical," Delisle said. "It's beenright in front of our home for a month."

Access to producehas already started to change his eating habits for the better.

"A half-hour walk back and forth when you've just forgotten a small tomato for your salad, well sometimes you just give up," Delisle said.

Nothing goes to waste

The movement so far has been a success for owners, too.It was the perfect fit for dpanneur owner Jean-Franois Marcoux, who recently starting selling healthy meals to meet the needs of his clients.

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"We heard about the project and we think it fits with our concept that we want to implement," Marcoux said.

"There are more and more people who live in Montreal and professionals who want to eat healthy."

The produce that isn't snatched up by clients doesn't go to waste, either. Fruits and vegetables that don't sell are donated to local food kitchens.