Fresh fruit and vegetable truck to roll through Saint-Laurent borough

A new truck selling fresh produce will start rolling through Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough in an effort to encourage healthier eating.

The Relais Laurentien, a group that promotes food security, teamed up with the borough to get the project going year-round.

"We'll go all around the [borough] with this truck full of freshness from local producers," said the project's coordinator, David Lesiège.

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Though not all of the fruits and vegetables sold are organic, Lesiège promises "it's always fresh."

Project targets tight-budget households

The project will target households on tight budgets who may not be able to afford healthy food. 

To do so, nutritionists will be among those behind the wheel, and the produce sold will be cheaper than in most stores.

"Saint-Laurent is a large community, and even though we are perceived as being a well-to-do community, we have significant pockets of poverty," said borough mayor Alan DeSousa.

"What we want to do is to make sure that our community has access to food. Food is essential for the success of people living in our community; it's important for the kids that are growing up, it's important for the families that are perhaps right on the edge."

The borough is spending $400,000 to back the project.

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