Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables can help kids and families maintain healthy weight and prevent many chronic diseases. Unfortunately, too many Americans—especially people of color, rural, and lower-income populations—live in “food deserts” that lack full-service supermarkets and grocery stores.In these food deserts, where only candy, chips, soda, and other junk foods are readily available, fresh “produce cart vendors” (like a produce stand on wheels!) can make a world of difference.

NPLAN’s Model Produce Cart Ordinance creates a streamlined permit program to make it easier for produce cart vendors to bring fresh, uncut fruits and vegetables from a mobile cart directly to a neighborhood. This fact sheet, Creating a Permit Program for Produce Cart Vendors, provides an overview of NPLAN's model ordinance and also describes the many benefits of produce cart vending. Produce cart vendors can travel deep into neighborhoods most in need of fresh produce, do not require large capital investments to start operations, and can adjust their inventory quickly to fit the unique cultural demands of a community. Communities that establish a permit program for produce cart vendors may also enjoy economic benefits in the form of increased small business opportunities, and neighborhood economic development and revitalization.

To learn more, be sure to check out our other resources:

• Healthy Mobile Vending Policies: A Win-Win for Vendors and Childhood Obesity Prevention Advocates, a fact sheet showing how mobile vending regulations can promote healthy eating in communities that need it the most.   
• California Certified Farmers’ Markets and Farm Stands: A Closer Look at State Law, a fact sheet explaining how state law works to encourage alternative retail outlets, such as farmers’ markets, farm stands, and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, where farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers.