By Emily Cassel

The Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy has launched a one-year pilot program that would introduce healthy, “green” food vendors along the Greenway by the summer of 2010.

The pilot program has allotted for four specific areas in the parks where vendors could serve food. The Conservancy hopes to implement the changes by June 1.

Jesse Brackenbury, director of business operations for the Greenway, said the pilot food program was suggested after hearing feedback and collecting observations about the Greenway from its patrons. The Conservancy then issued a request for proposal documents from area food vendors by April 5.

“We received about 25 really diverse proposals, from restaurants to individual operators, from chinese food to hot dogs to organic food,” Brackenbury said. “And actually, we got a proposal for an organic hot dog stand. It’s quite a lot of things in a number of dimensions.”

The Conservancy is currently conducting interviews with applicants to determine who will be granted a cart along the Greenway for its pilot program. Those that are selected will be responsible for obtaining carts and the appropriate permits, but Brackenbury said, “[The Greenway] is there to make sure they’re not running into brick walls.

“He said the Greenway has three guiding principles for the vending program: To ensure that the program is a public amenity, to remember that this is a pilot program and to start slow, and to get the basics right.

“It doesn’t matter how good the food is if trash is piling up, if there are cleanliness problems,” Brackenbury said.

Vendors were asked to state in their proposals how they would maintain environmentally friendly operations, and Brackenbury said the proposals included many simple, planet-conscious suggestions, such as the use of corn-based plastics for their utensils instead of regular plastics.

“Because this is a one-year pilot program, we didn’t feel we could demand, you know, solar-powered carts,” Brackenbury said. “But we’ve actually had one proposal suggest that.”

The Conservancy hopes to implement the carts by June 1, but Brackenbury said their goal may be “aggressive.” However, he added that, especially for a vendor with experience who already had a cart, this would not be difficult to achieve.

Freshman art major Mackenzie Doyle said she thought the new food carts would be a welcome addition to the parks, and said that she’d be much more likely to visit the parks on a sunny day if there was food available.

“It’d be a good hangout spot … people are always looking for spots to go on dates, and a great way to bond is over some food,” Doyle said. “A lot of hangouts revolve around food. So yeah if I could snag a munch, have a seat and grab some fresh air, what could be better?”

Not all students were so enthusiastic. Ana Smith, a senior majoring in international affairs, said she was still unlikely to visit the Greenway.

“It would barely influence my opinion,” Smith said. “I think I probably wouldn’t go either way.”

Brackenbury added that the Greenway – located between the North End and Chinatown – is surrounded by areas known for their excellent food. He said that someday the Greenway will be considered a place that serves delicious food as well.

“I love food myself, so this is a fun project to be working on,” Brackenbury said. “I’d love for people to think of Greenway as a foodie destination.”