Par-Troy Has Healthy Food Options, Official Says

In a recent study, the U.S. Department of Agriculture included Parsippany-Troy Hills in its list of "food deserts," municipalities where access to healthy food (in the form of restaurants and legitimate supermarkets) is limited or near-impossible for some residents. But the township's Human Services Director Barbara Ievoli says there are ways for residents to find the nutrition they and their families need.

According to the federal government, 6.2 percent of township residents—including more than 600 children under 17, nearly 300 seniors and nearly 8 percent of those who live in apartments—are affected negatively by the dearth of nutiritional options open to them.

Many—particularly those without cars—depend on processed foods available at convenience stores located on off roads to survive. 

But Ievoli said there are other ways to procure healthy foods.

"In Parsippany people can get home delivery for a small fee from Shop Rite and also Stop and Shop's Peapod service," she said. "For senior citizens who are homebound and don’t have any family close by, we will shop for them."

To get more information on that service, seniors or their advocates can contact the Office on Aging and the Physically Handicapped at 973-263-7352.

She added that shopping help for those who are elderly and frail is available through the Visiting Nurse Association of New Jersey in Morristown.  The VNA can be reached via phone at 1-800-WE-VISIT (1-800-938-4748). 

For those not elderly or homebound, the township offers another alternative for those who lack transportation to get to a supermarket.

"I think we are lucky in Parsippany because we do have the free transit bus which is available to all residents," Ievoli said.

The Parsippany Free Transit System lives up to its name—there is no charge for residents to use township shuttle buses.

The Transit Bus operates Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Two buse—one following an east route, the other going west—run on the hour starting at the Morris Hills Shopping Center on Route 46.

Route 1 covers Route 46 West shopping plazas, Lake Hiawatha, Vail Road apartment complexes, the Parsippany Community Center, Brookside Senior Center and other stops. 

Route 2 covers Route 46 East, Brookside Senior Center, St. Christopher Church, Mazdabrook, Route 10 and Parsippany Road shopping areas, the Littleton Road corridor, Social Security and other locations.

Download a copy of the full itinerary.

Get more information on Parsippany's Transit Bus System at 973-263-7093. (Be sure to call and confirm that buses are running.)