MIAMI (WSVN) - With a lack of healthy food options in the neighborhood he grew up in, a former NFL player wanted to change that, so he put his money where his neighborhood’s mouth is.
Vernon Carey, a former lineman for the Miami Dolphins, is now in the business of making sure his community eats well.
“You can find fried chicken on every corner, you can find soul food, Chinese food, but you can’t find healthy options,” said Carey, “and that was my mission. I wanted to come back to the community and provide healthy options.”
Carey, who wanted to adopt a lifestyle change from his playing days, teamed up with Sholonda Jones to make Green Envy the perfect place to elevate health foodies.
“It was a need for myself to eat healthy and transitioning from me being a cancer patient, so that inspired me to come into the community and know it’s a need because I wasn’t the only one,” said Jones.
Green Envy is located on 62nd Street in Liberty City and offers an assortment of healthy options, which makes nearby residents grateful this type of quality food will be around their neighborhood for generations to come.
“They know me,” said customer Chavon Gross excitedly. “I love this store, man, and I appreciate him for making a business like this because it’s impactful. I make my son drink this type of stuff.”
Gross said his son cannot get enough of the tasty smoothies.
“Being that we don’t have a lot of inner city healthy places to eat, this came in right in handy for me because I’m at the gym and then working,” said another customer, Inah Shaw. “It’s in an inner city I can slide right through. I’ve been here maybe five or six times already, and the food is perfect.”
So is the service, as Carey has a hands-on approach when it comes to customer service.
“It means a lot, man, especially when I’m in here working some days, and you see people come in here and say, ‘Dude, you grew up there. What’s up, bro? I like what you’re doing here. This is dope. We needed this,'” he said. “That’s how you know you’re doing the right thing.”
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