Urban Community Food (and Fitness) Project

The Bronx is home to some of the nation's highest rates of poverty, unemployment, incarceration- hunger, diabetes and obesity too. It's all linked together. Our community needs community programs that are healthy, educational and affordable. So, we are building a network of farm sites, with on site fitness equipment- that we can grow food, feed people, create jobs and empower the community. We are a core team of dedicated volunteers currently managing two farms and expanding into more spaces. This spring, while we expand our programing to include free fitness classes for local residents we intend to strengthen our greenhouses, install solar panels, develop a rainwater collection/aquaponic system, get a used pick up truck and start delivering to local pantries with each harvest. By the fall we'll have harvested and delivered a few hundred pounds of food to hunger Bronxites and improved on our growing capabilities so that we can grow through the winter. 

Currently we have four greenhouses and dozens of outdoor grow beds at two sites in the Bronx. In order for us to grow the maximum potential of food that we grow, we need to make sure we can extend our season, install solar panels and a heating system and develop our aquaponics system in our nursery. We need to cultivate more compost and strengthen our storage facility. To work more efficiently, we need to maintain a pick up truck that we can use to move our soil and supplies from site to site. To be more sustainable, and eco friendly, we must install rainwater catchment systems so that we do not continue to rely on city water supply. During May, we will fundraise through our membership and by renewing our 2013 spring cycle grants with Citizen's Committee for NYC and the Buddhist Global Relief. In June, we will begin improvements while managing our current crops rotating harvests and deliveries so that by the end of September, our sites are ready for the change of seasons. 

Take a trip to your average Bronx Grocery store. It's crazy how you can spend, literally, $1,000 for a bagel just miles from a place where fresh produce is too expensive for most residents. This area is incredibly hungry. The food that is readily available is unhealthy. So, we are growing food and teaching fitness right in the middle of it all. We aim to keep our programs free- because the people who really need help, need help because the help that is out there- the organic tomatoes and fitness coaches- are too expensive. We are doing this because we live here. Because there aren't enough safe spaces and enriching environments in our neighborhood, for our children.