The area that gave rise to some of the great achievements in African-American culture and commerce is now inundated with fast-food restaurants and suffers from high rates of obesity and diabetes.

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Into this seemingly fruit- and vegetable-free zone stepped Milo Meed, who earlier this month opened Island Salad, a Caribbean-inspired Harlem eatery that offers customers a made-to-order salad bar.

“Everyone said to me, people (in Harlem), they want fried food, they want soul food, they don’t want salad. But living in Harlem and talking to people in the community, I knew what the needs were,” Meed said.

He is pushing promotions such as “Diabetes Mondays,” which offers a free salad to those who bring along a customer with diabetes.

Island Salad received a loan from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corp., a publicly-funded entity that aims to revitalize distressed communities.

Combining tradition with nutrition, the shop offers “jerk chicken salad” along with an “Asian Rasta” salad with grilled teriyaki chicken, crispy chow mein noodles and sesame ginger dressing.

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