July 31, 2012 – Residents and workers in North Long Beach have their first farmer’s market thanks to the Kaiser Permanente Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Zone Initiative announced last year. In cooperation with 9th District Councilman Steven Neal and the Coalition For A Healthy North Long Beach, the market opened July 25 at the corner of Artesia Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue. Managed by Greener Good Farmer’s Market under the direction of Jorge Rivera, the market is open every Wednesday from 3 to 8 p.m., featuring items such as fresh fruit, vegetables and hot food. “I’m looking forward to working with Greener Good to offer more access to fresh food for our residents,” Councilmember Neal said in a prepared statement. “This project activates a blighted, empty lot and transforms it to a space  the community will come to love.” Last August, Kaiser Permanente announced its initiative in an effort to fight obesity in California. It’s a “targeted, three-year effort to encourage people in low-income communities to eat better and move more as part of daily life,” according to Kaiser’s Web site. The Long Beach Health and Human Services Department received a $1 million, three-year grant from Kaiser. The city department’s Web site states: “The HEAL Zones are designed to help make healthy choices accessible to more people in underserved communities – and in turn to prevent diseases such as diabetes and heart disease that often result from obesity. The overall vision of the HEAL Zone initiative is to support people to eat better and move more as part of daily life. Pictured at the plum display are, from left: Galen Carroll, commander, Long Beach Police Department North Division; Councilman Neal; and City Manager Pat West. Also pictured with his plants is vendor Ricardo Arrivillaga, owner of Ricardo’s Nursery. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)