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Support us on #GivingTuesday |
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We are proud to be selected as a a finalist for the inaugural Brooklyn Community Foundation Spark Prize. Donate to us on Giving Tuesday--November 29--and you donation will be matched. Check out our video at BrooklynGives.org and you can donate to us here. We take checks, too! Just be sure to date them for November 29th and make them payable to United Community Centers. Thanks to the Brooklyn Community Foundation and congratulations to all of the other finalists! |
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Solomon Aniemeka's Site Reflection: Rockaway Youth Task Force |
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On August 18, 2015 a couple of East New York Farms! interns and I journeyed to Far Rockaway to visit a garden site known as the Rockaway Youth Task Force. We were welcomed by two staff members in the program, Kaleel and Jasmine who welcomed us to their garden. Before we started the tour, Kaleel and Jasmine thought it would be a good idea if we could introduce our names and state why we love gardening. During this activity each person learned something new from one another and that gardening has affected our lives in similar ways and that all of us had a common goal to spread gardening throughout our communities. 
When we began the tour around the garden, I discovered a few interesting facts about the program. To begin with, the RYTF had a strong connection with their community to the extent that people from different sections of the community will come to their garden to plant their own produce. This is extremely important because the RYTF has opened a great opportunity for people to have access to grow there own produce which will better benefit the community in which the use of healthy produce will increase in the environment, thus reducing the production of fatty substance that can weaken and harm the human body. Furthermore, even though the RYTF program hasn’t been around for a long period of time they are still able to access a solar panel that powers electricity throughout their garden. This is really marvelous because ENYF”s program has been here longer than the RYTF, however we only have one solar panel that powers our greenhouse. This goes to show that the smallest garden can accomplish so much with dedication and hardwork. For the next farm trips, I’m looking forward to learning about other youth farm programs and their impact on their communities.
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East New York Farms is making headlines! |
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The East New York Farms! project has been featured in three wonderful articles this summer, each discussing our work from different angles. BKLYNR.COM featured an interview with Project Director David Vigil, Al Jazeera spoke to staff, gardeners and youth for an in-depth profile of the project, and the New York Times highlighted women leaders across the food justice movement. Check the links for the full stories! |
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Youth Food Justice Network Honored at Just Food Conference |
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The East New York Farms! Project along
with the Northeast Youth Food Justice Network attended the annual Just Food
Conference held on Sunday, March 13th, at Teachers College, Columbia
University. The annual Just
Food Conference brings together hundreds of community organizers,
urban and rural farmers, CSA members, educators, youth and members of the
press for a full day of interactive workshops, panel discussions, and good
food, focused on building a more equitable food movement.
The conference started out on a
very high note as Brooklyn Youth Fellow and ENYF Alumna Peace Titilawo accepted
the Mckinley Hightower-Beyah Award on behalf of the planning committee for the
Youth Empowerment Summit (Y.E.S. Summit) and the Northeast Youth Food Justice
Network. Each year, this award honors New York City youth who have demonstrated
exceptional leadership in their community through their involvement in urban
agriculture and food justice work. This year, the award recognized all the
youth who worked tirelessly throughout 2015 to host two regional gatherings for
youth, by youth involved in the food justice movement in and around NYC. These
events convened more than one hundred youth to share their skills, experiences
and knowledge with each other. Thank you to Just Food and the Hightower-Beyah
family for honoring us with this award at the Just Food Conference. 
After the award, Senior Field
Organizer, Khaleel Anderson gave a Food Talk on his work on food deserts in
Queens and with the Rockaway Youth Task Force. Then, the Northeast Youth Food
Justice Network hosted two sessions. The first was a panel discussion led by
Peace Titilawo on the importance of the network and youth experiences in
planning the summits. Also, a Youth Identity Caucus was held to collaborate
with all the youth at the conference on upcoming events that will bring youth
together to work towards a fairer and equitable food system. We hope to continue
to collaborate more and grow as a powerful network of food justice leaders.
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