By Julie Huynh

Boston enjoys a reputation for its progressive attitude toward food. All across the nation, more Americans are paying attention to what they eat. But Bostonians appear to place a special emphasis on healthy food, which is reflected in the numerous organic restaurants, rooftop vegetable gardens, and farmer’s markets visible around the city.

Now, healthy food can be found in fast food. Right down Washington Street in lively Downtown Crossing, a source of freshly grown food can be found at a restaurant known as b. good.

Reflecting the city’s interest in healthy eating, b. good provides an alternative to typical fast food. Here, they don’t believe in processed or chemically-altered cuisine. Much of their menu would be familiar to most people. The restaurant serves all kinds of burgers and sandwiches. But everything they offer is either home-grown or locally purchased. On its website, b. good says its goal is to be a place “where you can feel good about burgers and fries.’’

Its approach is also beneficial to the environment. Because they buy local or grow vegetables themselves, there is no food mileage. All of the produce is fresh because it doesn’t have to be transported a far distance.

Another source of healthy foods for city residents is farmer’s markets. Here farmers bring produce directly from their fields and sell directly to customers. In recent years, interest in buying farm food appears to be on the rise. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there were approximately 1,755 farmer’s markets back in 1994. Today, there are more than 7,000 of them.

Twenty-five years ago, Haymarket, the open-air market near Faneuil Hall, was teetering on the edge of an early end as fewer customers came to buy, partly because of air pollution caused by cars and construction machinery of the Big Dig. Now, it is one of the largest and most well-known markets in Boston. Every week, it’s buzzing with people eager to buy fresh, healthy, and affordable groceries.

Besides appealing to the health conscious, farmer’s markets can also help bring more affordable nutritious food  to consumers in low-income communities. Food in the ‘Hood is an organization that tries to improve the health of residents in lower-income communities like the Bowdoin Geneva neighborhood of Dorchester.

Maura Beaufait, healthy food access coordinator of Food in the ‘Hood, states, “The challenge of finding healthy foods in Bowdoin Geneva has been problematic for years.”

The organization says that the area is plagued by obesity-related issues because there is such a lack of availability to healthy produce in the neighborhood.

The Bowdoin Geneva Farmers’ Market, which opened in 2008, has helped with those problems. With markets like this, residents are able to take advantage of wholesome, high quality, but affordable food.

Beaufait strongly encourages group effort, emphasizing that it’s the only way that will enhance the betterment of the community.

“Healthy eating doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems if we work together to improve access in our communities and learn from one another about how tasty, nutritious, and culturally-appropriate healthy food can be,” she said.