30 million pounds of fresh produce sold by Hunts Point Produce Market in NYC this Thanksgiving
THE BRONX (WABC) -- If you're celebrating Thanksgiving in or around New York City, it is very likely your produce is coming from Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx.
Tuesday, two days before the holiday, is the busiest day of the year for the market.
"This is the last day, this is Tuesday, the market closes tomorrow, and we're pushing out about 30 million pounds of fresh produce to the New York City area. That's three times the normal amount that we're normally doing...," market CEO Phillip Grant said on Tuesday.
Even when you go out to eat, your local restaurant of choice probably got its produce from Hunts Point. It looks just like a regular market, but Hunts Point sells in bulk, or wholesale.
"Anything under the sun, you can find here in the market. Specialty products, from 'tropicals' to the regular hardware, the potatoes, the yams, the onions, everything you need to have a healthy Thanksgiving meal, you can find right here in the market," Phillip said.
This is the largest wholesale produce market in the world and the produce comes via plane, tractor trailer, even a boat from 49 states and 55 counties.
"It's a really exciting time of year because we get to move a lot of produce, and on top of that, we get to donate a lot of produce, as well. So, obviously there are a lot of people in our community that aren't able to get access to fresh produce, so it's a small thing we can do to try and help that," merchant Joshua Gatcke said.
Any leftover food at the end of the day goes to the various community organizations in the area.
ALSO READ | 'Corn Kid' helps donate 90,000 cans of vegetables to NYC food rescue for Thanksgiving
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