East New York Farms! (ENYF) is a community organization created to address

food justice The Food Justice Movement is a grassroots initiative which emerged in response to food insecurity and economic pressures that prevent access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods (food should fit the cultural background of the p ...

issues in the

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

Following the disinvestment and neglect of the neighborhood in the 1960s and 1970s, the Pratt Center for Community Development and local organizations collaborated in 1995 to identify needs of the neighborhood including: more safe green spaces, income generating opportunities, retail, and better opportunities for youth. East New York Farms! was established in 1998 and became a program of United Community Centers (UCC) in 2007.

Urban agriculture

East New York Farms! consists of a network of two urban farms, UCC Youth Farm and the Pink Houses Community Farm, and a community garden, Fresh Farm, to grow produce for the farmers market. A majority of the families in East New York are Black and Hispanic with approximately 35% being immigrants, many of whom have agricultural backgrounds. The agricultural spaces grow a variety of crops from the farmers' and gardeners' cultural heritages, including the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. The diversity of crops make the farmers market rare in the Northeastern United States. The farms regularly host workshops, tours and cooking demonstrations.

UCC Youth Farm

The UCC Youth Farm was established in 2010 and is located on one acre at Kingston and Winthrup Avenues on property owned by the High School for Public Service in East New York. It is managed by 35 youth ages 13-15 from East New York who are selected for 9-month paid internships at the farm. The program is intended to teach participants how to run an organic farm, and how to provide support to other gardeners. By using food and food justice as the catalyst, participants also learn about the environment, health & nutrition, entrepreneurship, and leadership. In 2012, the farm worked with the

NYC Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

to establish soil safety standards. In 2016, the farm partnered with the Farm School NYC to offer the Farm Intensive Certificate program, a 7 month urban farm training.

Pink Houses Community Farm

The Pink Houses Community Farm is located at the

Pink Houses "Pink Houses" is a song written and performed by John Cougar Mellencamp. It was released on 23 October 1983 album '' Uh-Huh'' on Riva Records. It reached No. 8 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1984 and No. 15 in Canada. "Pink Houses" wa ...

, a public housing development owned by the

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the U ...

. The half-acre farm opened in 2015 as a partnership between Pink Houses Resident Green Committee and ENYF. Produce is distributed to residents of the development weekly in the community center.\

References

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External links