The Oriental Food Market in the Angkor Market at 418 Quequechan Street was visited on January 13, 2010 as part of a survey of nearly 100 neighborhood markets in Fall River during the week of January 8 through 15, 2010. The project was designed to to improve the nutritional value of the foods offered in these stores, especially the availability of fruits, vegetables and whole grain products over the next few years. A group of eight volunteers took part in the survey following a training session at the UMass Professional Learning Center on South Main Street. Results from the survey will help in planning future interventions designed by the Fall River Mass In Motion project. Mass In Motion, an initiative to combat obesity and the chronic diseases that result from overweight and lack of physical exercise privately funded by the state’s largest insurance carriers. For more information about the project, contact Mass In Motion coordinator Julie Kelly at 508-324-2405.  

Top row, left) Diabetes Association Community Health Worker Grace Diaz looks over photos of various tropical fruits, some of which are for sale in the Oriental Food Market in the Angkor Market. (Top row, center) Grace looks at a yam with a bright purple interior as she looks over the large assortment of vegetables. (Middle row) Grace inspects some baby bok choy and a pomelo, some of the Asian vegetables that are not available in other local markets. (Bottom row) Diabetes Association Adult Program Coordinator John Quintas looks over some ginger root and some low carbohydrate crackers that would be a good choice for many of his clients at the Diabetes Association before completing the survey.