The Big Apple looks to revolutionize its street food vending system with new environmentally friendly food carts. The MOVE System based in Queens, in partnership with the NYC City Council, will be providing 500 free hybrid food carts to vendors across the city through a pilot program set to be announced Monday.

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For a city known for its street food, among a plethora of other things, New York City greeted the arrival of food trucks some years ago with a hunger for refined street food. Soon enough, the stakes got higher as more and more food carts rose across the city, feeding thousands of hungry New Yorkers every day.

With these new food carts, MOVE chief executive James Meeks wants to improve the quality of food and air in the city. "What's the quality of the air I'm breathing? What's the quality of the food I'm eating? These are the problems we're trying to solve," he told a Wall Street Journal reporter. "I hope there will be an opportunity for even more culinary options than exist today."

The carts, also known as MRV100 Hybrids, are roughly five feet wide, 10 feet long, and eight feet high. They will be built to accommodate a wide array of cooking styles, and all are equipped with solar panels, alternative fuel systems, and rechargeable batteries. Meeks said that the costs of these carts will be taken from donations and private partnerships and not from the city budget.

Many street vendors within the city already expressed their interest in trading in their existing cart for one of the new hybrids. Indeed, food trucks can be considered a boon to New York City's busy lifestyle and crowded streets. And now, with these new developments, vendors and diners alike can rest easy knowing that their lunch is made clean and without lasting negative environmental impacts.

TagsEnvironmentally Friendly, Eco-friendly, Street Food, Food Trucks