Talk Of The Region: January
From January 2006
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UCD Grant Pushes Produce in Del Paso Heights
Despite the Hollywood stereotype of sprout-munching Valley girls, barely 20 percent of Californians eat their fruits and veggies as much as they should.
In lower-income neighborhoods the problem is worse because of a lack of chain supermarkets and corner stores. Now a newly minted entrepreneur in Del Paso Heights is working to correct that problem, thanks to a $25,000 grant and a UC Davis researcher. Ker Vue, 41, decided to stop his gig building and testing elevators, take out a second mortgage and buy Jimmy’s Deli and Market at the corner of Grand Avenue and Clay Street.
At the same time, assistant public health professor Diana Cassady had zeroed in on Jimmy’s as an ideal place to test the theory that unhealthy food choices could be turned around by making produce more available. Using a grant from the California Cancer Research Program, she helped Vue purchase a refrigerated display case and hired a produce consultant, Nathan Chang, to get the ball rolling. They even gave the storefront a new sign and a spiffy coat of green paint to entice neighbors to check out the green inside, including Chinese mustard greens, collard greens and lettuce, along with oranges, grapes and honeydew.
“There are people who believe that the lack of demand is the reason why there are no supermarkets, and corner stores don’t sell produce,” says Cassady, who was inspired by similar pilot programs in Oakland. If Jimmy’s apples and cabbages move well, it may disprove such skepticism. Best of all for Vue, a healthy neighborhood will mean healthy business.
Harlow’s Momo Brings New Mojo to Art Walk
Midtown music and restaurant hotspot Harlow’s will enter new territory when it opens the upstairs Momo Lounge to Second Saturday Art Walk patrons Jan. 14.
The show will feature the paintings of Brandy Hart-Ureel and Rebecca Fong. Harlow’s co-owner Barbara Torza says the impetus for the merger of art and low-key lounge was to offer patrons a lively alternative to the traditional gallery shuffle past austere white walls while clutching bad wine and scary cheese.
Continued...
Despite the Hollywood stereotype of sprout-munching Valley girls, barely 20 percent of Californians eat their fruits and veggies as much as they should.
In lower-income neighborhoods the problem is worse because of a lack of chain supermarkets and corner stores. Now a newly minted entrepreneur in Del Paso Heights is working to correct that problem, thanks to a $25,000 grant and a UC Davis researcher. Ker Vue, 41, decided to stop his gig building and testing elevators, take out a second mortgage and buy Jimmy’s Deli and Market at the corner of Grand Avenue and Clay Street.
At the same time, assistant public health professor Diana Cassady had zeroed in on Jimmy’s as an ideal place to test the theory that unhealthy food choices could be turned around by making produce more available. Using a grant from the California Cancer Research Program, she helped Vue purchase a refrigerated display case and hired a produce consultant, Nathan Chang, to get the ball rolling. They even gave the storefront a new sign and a spiffy coat of green paint to entice neighbors to check out the green inside, including Chinese mustard greens, collard greens and lettuce, along with oranges, grapes and honeydew.
“There are people who believe that the lack of demand is the reason why there are no supermarkets, and corner stores don’t sell produce,” says Cassady, who was inspired by similar pilot programs in Oakland. If Jimmy’s apples and cabbages move well, it may disprove such skepticism. Best of all for Vue, a healthy neighborhood will mean healthy business.
Harlow’s Momo Brings New Mojo to Art Walk
Midtown music and restaurant hotspot Harlow’s will enter new territory when it opens the upstairs Momo Lounge to Second Saturday Art Walk patrons Jan. 14.
The show will feature the paintings of Brandy Hart-Ureel and Rebecca Fong. Harlow’s co-owner Barbara Torza says the impetus for the merger of art and low-key lounge was to offer patrons a lively alternative to the traditional gallery shuffle past austere white walls while clutching bad wine and scary cheese.
Continued...
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