With the help of a hydroponic farm at a Brooklyn middle school, Teens for Food Justice has launched a new Fresh Food Box program that will provide produce to local food-scare communities.
Teens for Food Justice, in partnership with Community Care of Brooklyn, started the program to bring fresh produce to under-served communities in New York City, according to a news release.
Through the Fresh Food Box program, the release said food-insecure residents in Brownsville, Brooklyn, will be able to purchase a week’s worth of produce for $14. The fresh produce is grown by middle school students at the Brownsville Collaborative Middle School/Teens for Food Justice hydroponic farm, according to the release.
The release said participants can collect their weekly food boxes from Brownsville Collaborative Middle School or DeWitt Clinton High School. The program accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, in addition to cash and all major credit and debit cards.
Funding for the hydroponic farm is made possible by Community Care of Brooklyn, a New York State-funded, Maimonides Medical Center-led network of more than 1,000 health and social services organizations working together to better health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries in Brooklyn, according to the release.
The nonprofit Teens for Food Justice runs three school hydroponic farms in New York City serving seven schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The farms are expected to produce 30,000 pounds of produce annually, according to the release.
“Teens for Food Justice’s Fresh Food Box program will provide residents with a weeks’ worth of fruits and vegetables in an easy to access location,” Teens For Food Justice CEO Katherine Soll said in the release.
The program gives Teens for Food Justice staff and interns business and entrepreneurial experience, she said.
