About the project
Access to fresh produce is severely limited in the Bed-Stuy/Brownsville/Ocean Hill area. Supermarkets are rare, and many of the residents face severe -food insecurity- where they are forced to forego fresh and nutritious foods in favor of cheaper and less nutritious alternatives. As a response, community garden projects have begun to fill the nutrition and access gap. Unfortunately, the costs of community garden projects are incredibly burdensome for the small organizations that aim to serve and teach the community. Garden projects are abandoned for lack of funds, available space is left unused, and the momentum of the local foods movement hinges on competitive grants. For lack of sufficient funds, Bed-Stuy remains a food desert.The Steps
The "More Green for Less Green" project will run concurrently with our Victory Garden. It will be a plot dedicated to low-cost and effective gardening. As such the project will run throughout the planting season.
March- Bring in new Topsoil. Begin Seed Starting.
April- Create Beds, prepare soil.
May- Transplant Seed-Starts, Plant seeds.
June/July- Harvest and produce guide “More Green for Less GreenWhy we‘re doing it
Our project, "More Green for Less Green" aims to create a template for low-cost community gardening in the inner city. The Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger provides food for over 118,000 residents of the Bed-Stuy/Brownsville/Ocean Hill area through our food pantry. The past two years, we have managed a "Victory Garden" where we grow fresh produce with help from the community. This year, we would like to create a guide for groups who would like to create a substantial garden for the community, but don't want to spend more than $2,000. By documenting our own garden, including how much food we provide, how we use our resources, and best practices, we will create a template for other community groups to follow. By allowing more groups to be involved in the community garden movement, we will help increase access to fresh produce in the Bed-Stuy area, as well as decrease the high failure rate of garden projects.
