While customers dive into fresh produce stands spanning 113 acres, Ricky Esposito, 36, sets up shop. He works for Go Fresh, one of the food retailers spread across the South Bronx peninsula, Hunts Point. Here, fresh produce is the specialty, with a selection of fruits and vegetables delivered daily via plane, boat and tractor-trailer from 49 states and 55 countries.
As part of the largest food distribution center in the world, Hunts Point Cooperative Market has transformed its neighborhood into a booming industrial hub. And with a $150 million investment in Hunts Point made by Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this year, it’s likely to grow even more.
“When I first started here, I kept getting lost,” said Esposito. “But that’s really the beauty of this place. There’s so much to choose from.” Esposito named his favorites: yellow beefsteak tomatoes, black velvet apricots, and pink pearl apples, a variety that are marbled on the inside.
At Hunts Point, local residents can peruse three markets for produce, meat, and fish. But it isn’t simply for locals — people from all over the state receive their food from the Distribution Center, which is responsible for over half of the New York region’s meat and produce. In total, over 50 independent food businesses at the market supply food to 23 million people in the New York metropolitan area.
“My family has always cooked with fresh vegetables,” one local customer, Keren Delgado, 26, said. “I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager.”
Knowing the ins and outs of the place, she is among the many individuals and families alike foraging for the fruits and veggies they desire, plucking them as they move along.
Opened in 1967, each business in the market boasts a variety of options, from peppers and okra to ginger and squash. Their trucks and storage units spread themselves in a gray mass across the South Bronx, N.Y., an area that, despite this plethora of options, has the highest rate of food insecurity (an unreliable access to nutritious food) in the country.
“I don’t come here that much,” another customer, Jerome LaRinga, 52, said, grabbing a peach from the display. “It’s easier just to go to other places for cheap food.” Hunts Point is home to other food stands and eateries appreciated by the South Bronx community, which went from being two-thirds white in 1950 to two-thirds black or Puerto Rican a decade later. Beloved stops include Valencia Bakery and Mo Gridder’s BBQ truck, which offer Hispanic and soul foods.
Though the distribution center’s blocky industrial backdrop is a far cry from the vibrant local food places, the market’s color and brightness attracts fans in the neighborhood of all ages. They walk by the fluffy greens, the purple and yellow cauliflowers, carefully inspecting their potential purchases. A mild sweetness fills the air.
Some take issue with the market’s affordability, as it doesn’t take Electronic Benefit Transfer.
“They don’t take EBT, but the prices are better than what I usually find,” said another customer, Sophia Capo. Though it’s a little far from her home, she enjoys walking around the sprawling market and seeing what’s available.
What was once a vacation spot for New York’s elite (even owned by H.D. Tiffany of the Tiffany & Co family) has now become a food center with a $2.5 billion revenue each year. And with the new investment, the goal is to clean up, improve transportation safety, and facilitate recreational activity.