Forsyth Produce Market

Prices are actually very cheap compared to the prices in Midtown. Instead of one pack of blueberries in Midtown stores, here you can buy three! A large assortment of fresh vegetables and fruits makes this place even more attractive! But no matter how good it sounds, I did not get where they are imported from. Has anything been used for the produce growth or appearance, or it is all because of the rent that they do not pay? Anyway, if I will be there for a chance I will buy a few packs of blueberries!

There’s many items to choose from, but that’s what the selection is limited to. The selection doesn’t change as much from season to season as vendors on Canal St. Usually has the best prices, but watch out for bad produce.

I pass this stand on my way to Whole Foods. I’m always tempted to jump in line behind the elderly Chinese people, but usually I just keep on walking (as I try to stick with organic for most things, or at least for the dirty dozen). If you are looking for organic, this market is NOT for you. That said, you will NOT find better prices anywhere. This dude almost gives the stuff away, probably because some of it is past its prime and/​or cosmetically defective. But some of the stuff is perfectly fine and a real steal. Several times I have got home and had to chuck a decent portion of the fruit because it had issues… so that kinda takes away from the great deal. Although, I have got better at picking what to buy, so now that is less of an issue.
Overall, if you are selective, you can definitely find some insane deals (ex. honeydew, green beens, yams, etc). They seem to never have avocados, which is unfortunate. I love a bargain as much as the next guy and would regularly shop at the union sq farmers’ market if it was closer, but this place does not really excite me (maybe I’m just a snob). That said, i get the appeal, I mean where else you can get 3 lbs of yams for $ 1 or 3 bunches of asparagus for $ 2.

Wha-​what? Why? How?!
These are the questions you will ask yourself when you walk home with 10 lbs of fruit and vegetables with nary a dent in your wallet.
First of all, let me say this. There are many fruit stands in this area. You should only go to one. The stand that you should go to is fairly easy to spot given that it almost always has the longest line. The stand is manned by an old white guy with with white hair. He usually has a younger Hispanic man helping him out. The line moves a little slow so expect a wait. Make sure you know what you want by the time you get to the front of the line so as to not hold up everyone else.
The prices here are ridiculous. It’s almost as if you’ve traveled back in time to 1985. You can get entire boxes of fruit for five dollars. You can get enough fruit and vegetables to feed your family for a month for less than the price of a drink at most bars in New York.
Personally, I purchased 3 pounds of tomatoes, approximately 4 pounds of grapes, and between 10 to 20 peaches for a total of eight dollars.
On the way home, I had a thought. What if all these fruits are rotten on the inside? It certainly made sense. How else could they afford to sell at such cheap prices? This worry was laid to rest 20 minutes later as I cut open a perfectly ripened peach on my kitchen counter.
I don’t know how they do it, but living in a city as expensive as New York, you learn to count your blessings and not ask too many questions when you encounter something that is this inexplicably wonderful.
Thank you, Chinatown.

So here’s the deal: go to the vendor at the very end with the longest line. You’ll see it once you get there. The reason for their line? The produce here is ridiculously cheap.
However, you have to be ready to buy in large quantities /​bulk, and wait in a long line with all the old Chinese grandmas and Grandpas. Also, not everything they offer is fresh — you have to figure out what items are fresh for the week and buy those. For example, I got a great buy of 11 kiwis for $ 2 the other day, but the bag of grapes I got ended up smelling weird and I had to throw them away after a day. So be wary of what you buy — they could be going bad or they could be a steal. You can generally figure it out by seeing what the Chinese grandmas and grandpas buy.

Best deals on fresh produce in the city. EXTREMELY cheap. (Prices are always 50% or less than what you’d pay at supermarkets.).
As everyone here has mentioned, the best produce stand really is the one at the end, right under the Manhattan Bridge, where it ends on Canal St. It’s run by an elderly white guy. It’s the stand that always has the longest lines, but the wait is well worth it because their produce is the freshest AND always the cheapest, plus they offer the best variety. Separate lines for fruit and vegetables. This stand opens around 12:30 PM daily.
All the stands seem to close around 7:30 PM every night. Cash only.

The freshest and cheapest produce in the city can be found just under/​beside the the entrance of the Manhattan bridge in Chinatown. There are at least half a dozen produce carts here but the two most worth going to are very noticeable as there is always a line. I’m pretty sure these are the only two carts (owned by the same people) that are run by Middle Easterners and not Chinese over there. I say it’s the freshest because almost everyday there is a new selection availale at ridiculously low prices and the lines are so long with people that nothing sits around for too long. I don’t know where these guys get their produce from but if you’re looking for a good deal on produce and don’t have a specific produce in mind, this is where you go. The only issue I’ve ever run into is sometimes they have minimum amount you need to buy (I once had to buy 2 pounds of green beans). I pass these guys on my bike ride home from work in the warmer months so I took notes of the different produce they had (that I was interested in) and the prices they had (prices are almost always flucuating):
Green Beans– 0.63; 0.75; 0.33; 0.50/lb
Sweet Potatoes– 0.31; 0.25/lb
Oranges– 0.25ea; 7 for $ 2
Strawberries– $ 1 carton
Tomatoes– 0.50lb; 5 for $ 2
Bananas– 0.25lb/ $ 2 bunch
Corn– 6 for $ ¹⁄₇ for $ 2
Peaches– 9 for $ 2
Cherries– $ 1.50/lb
Broccoli– 0.65; 0.33/lb
Cantelope– $ 1.50ea
Pineapple– 0.75ea (small)

Took me a while to find the listing for this market, cause I was searching for something like «Chinatown Fruit and Vegetable Market under the Manhattan Bridge.» There. Now it will come up in search if someone else uses those terms!
Anyway, this is a great place to get your produce at wholesale prices. They’re happy to sell you things either by the pound or by the box, and there’s a good selection of both popular and exotic fruits and veggies.
My only caveat is — at the end of the day, make sure you take a good look at your purchases — don’t let them give you the leftover bruised and wilted stuff!
But this market is worth making a trip for, if you want to stock up on fresh groceries.

I still don’t understand how these stands have flown under the radar for this long. I just picked up 3Lbs of Beefsteak tomatoes for $ 1, and 4Lbs of green peppers for the same price.
At the stand that I go to, there were also celery, cauliflower, string beans, plums, starfruit, and a half dozen other products on sale today, all at unreal prices.
Go, find a stand with a long line (locals know where the fresh stuff is and line up there), and get in on the best bargain in the city…

This place is so bizarre and freaking-​ass cheap. The guy all the way down is the most popular, there are always hoards of people lined up to buy gallons of strawberries for $ 1.
If you’re in Chinatown and need some produce do your wallet a favor and check this place out!

Cheap Veggie and Fruit Stands!
The Squab & I discovered these Forsyth Produce Stands when going to eat dinner at Kuai An Noodles on Tue. The stands here beat the selection of those on Canal & Mulberry (Canalberry), and are cheaper too.
The Christian Middle Eastern guy with the crazy popular stand (right under the overpass as Mr. Met S. describes) has ridiculously long lines but can’t-believe-your-eyes prices. A huge box of strawberries for $ 1!!! I can’t say they were the freshest looking strawberries, so when you do buy them, plan to eat them within a day or two.
Surprisingly, most of the stands were run by non-​Chinese (mostly South Asians) even though this area is in the heart of Fukenese Chinatown.
We visited on a weekday night in May, and found that the stands didn’t pack up until 8pm-​ish, with the popular guy’s stand staying open later than the rest.

Giganto yellow and orange bell peppers at $ 1.50÷2 lbs, cauliflower at $ 1.50÷2, and tomatoes at $ 1.50÷2 lbs. Score, I *heart* these stands!
I make sure to stop by and grab some fresh produce every time I pass by the area, even if it means lugging a couple bag-​fulls of goodies 4 – 5 to the Grand St B/​D (not to mention protecting said bags on the subway with sharp elbows and stink eyes). I haven’t experienced the substandard quality Mr. Met has found, but depending on the day/​season, I wouldn’t be surprised if some produce spoiled after being baked for 6 hours on a bright sunny day. Speaking of which, these stands operate year round, from late morning to ~7:30pm. I recall wandering by at 10am to find the shopkeepers setting up shop on one occasion. As others have noted, strictly cash-​only transactions here.
Beware placing your bags/​belongings on the fruit and vegetables (thus potentially crushing something) as you wait in line to pay, as you will undoubtedly elicit a few dirty looks and sighs from the shopkeepers (think Seinfeld Soup-​Nazi, but slightly less extreme).

My out-​of-​town friend (yes, I’m an ignorant New Yorker) took me here after dimsum. She’s been living here sporadically for a few months and has managed to find the cheapest groceries stands before I did. Walk east on Canal and go under the northend of the bridge overpass. You can’t miss the small strip of non-​Chinese vendors hawking tons of produce in Cantonese on Forsyth from Canal to Division.
There are some stands right when you turn on to Forsyth but the most popular stand is the first one actually under the bridge. It has the longest line and sells both vegetables and fruit. If you plan on hauling a lot, a cart is strongly advised. Or just bring a strong male friend. I got cherries for $ 2/​lb. A box of the bigger kind of papayas for $ 8 (you can see the other side of the sign says $ 6, which will prob be the price later in the day). Boxes of mangos for $ 3. Typical asian veggies that sell by the $ 1 for x lbs. Watermelon for $ 2 — 5. They also had donut peaches, persimmons, Asian pears, etc. Don’t touch anything or you may incur their wrath, they bag everything for you. Another stand had dragonfruit and I noticed a cart on Canal sold it for cheaper. Some of the stuff is only sold by the box and looks pretty ripe… so use your discretion.
Leave it to me to go on one of the hottest days in NYC. Beware of line-​cutters. The line is pretty slow at times. Good deals require persistence and patience.

Sarah M is right — head toward the stand that has the longest line … they usually have the freshest produce.
Be warned though: some items are beyond expired. I once bought a tray of nectarines for 3 dollars (18 of them) only to find out the insides are black…
LOCATION: EAST BROADWAY & UNDERNEATH THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE. ACROSS FROM THE MANY BUSES (MAIN CHINATOWN BUS PICKUP STOP, not the one bus pickup, this site houses 3 buses) AT THE «MALL» UNDER THE BRIDGE
CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP PRODUCE
however…sometimes the quality is lacking. I bought a bag of grapes for $ 1, but by the time i got home, 25% was not edible.
BUSY BUSY BUSY, the locals love to skip lines so watch.
Not the best Chinatown area, populated by Fujiainese Chinese, but better than Flushing.
Expect alot of male locals to be standing around at those «job» places.

Extremely cheap produce. Granted, you may spend a little more time washing and paring said fruits and vegetables, but this is the real deal. 16 kiwis, 10 peaches, 8 nectarines, 8 tangerines, 3 lbs of hearty tomatoes, 5 ears of corn, or two large aubergines all to be had for a measley buck. Working knowledge of Chinese dialects or Spanish might come in handy, but the 5 – 10 deep lines of ancient Asiatics stand testimony to the economy of shopping here. Yes, it is essentially under a by-​pass, but the prices are unbeatable.