Brownsville Families Can Take A $2.50 Lyft Out Of Food Desert

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — Brownsville is getting a $2.50 Lyft to the greenmarket.

The ride-share program is partnering with GrowNYC, the organization that manages the city's greenmarkets, to offer discounted rides from Brownsville to outdoor farmers' markets across Brooklyn, the company announced.

The goal of the program, which has also been launched in Washington D.C. and Atlanta, is to "minimize the negative impacts of food deserts by making it easier, faster, and less expensive for residents in these areas to access farmers’ markets," according to a Lyft press release.

The Grocery Access Program will charge $2.50 for rides to or from Brownsville and East New York greenmarkets to about 200 families through October, according to a press release.

BMS Family Health and Wellness Centers, a Brownsville-based medical center, partnered with Lyft to help find and enroll Brooklyn families who would benefit from the program.

Under the program, Brownsville residents can get rides to the following grocery stores:

• Project EATS in Brownsville at 353 Chester St.
• GrowNYC Pitkin Youthmarket on Pitkin Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street
• GrowNYC Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza
• East New York Farms at 613 New Lots Ave.
• Isabahlia Ladies of Elegance Farmers Market at 93 New Lots Ave.

“The Grocery Access Program is a natural extension of our existing services," said Marcel Van Ooyen, GrowNYC president and CEO.

"[It] will help to reduce time, transportation barriers and the financial burden on the residents of Brownsville and beyond."