Farm Trip at Miller’s Crossing Farm

On July 19th, I went on a trip to Miller’s Crossing Farm in Hudson, NY with the CDSC, Just Food, United Way of New York City, and about four other food pantries from Brooklyn and Queens. Just Food is an non-profit organization dedicated to promoting local farmers and the production of fresh, organic, and locally grown food. United Way of New York City is dedicated to improving the standards of living of people in NYC. They work with schools, policy-makers, non-profit organizations, individuals, governments, businesses, and others to strive for a better community.

Both Just Food and United Way of NYC are funders of the CDSC, and the food pantries that came with us to the trip.

Clients at these food pantries are given the opportunity to visit Miller’s Crossing Farm once a year- this is the farm that produces most of the vegetables that are given away at these food pantries. The vegetables are delivered from the farm to the food pantries once every week.

I arrived at the CDSC around 7:30a.m so that I wouldn’t be late because we were supposed to depart from Brooklyn at 8:30a.m. We departed shortly after 8:30a.m and drove to the other food pantries to pick up the others. The transportation to the farm was sponsored by Just Food. We had a large bus, with comfy seats, tv screens, and a bathroom at the rear end of the bus. It took us about 3 hours to get to the farm excluding the time spent picking up the other people.

We passed the George Washington Bridge, drove into New Jersey, and then…. I took a short nap… However, later I woke up to find beautiful green scenery all around me. I even saw some antelopes on the way to the farm. The countryside is truly beautiful- green fields, waterways, and hills decorated the environment.

Lunchtime!

We arrived at the farm around 12p.m and we were welcomed by the farmer and his beautiful family. The farmer’s name is Chris.  He and his wife have four lovely children- two boys and two girls. The farm is extremely big, about 200 acres in size. Shortly after we arrived to the farm, we sat around on the farm fields under tree shades, and ate our lunch. Then we formed a circle, and made some introductions- Abby Youngblood from Just Food, the organizer of the trip introduced herself and gave a brief summary of her organization, her role, and thier mission. The representative of United Way on NYC introduced herself and also told us about her organization and their mission. This was followed by the heads of the other food pantries introducing themselves, and talking a little bit about the food pantries that they ran. Finally, farmer Chris told us about the his farm and its history. The plot of land the farm in located in belongs to Chris’s parents- he turned it into a farm a few years ago. His parents, and siblings also live at the farm with their families (but they are not farmers). The farm has about 14 employees.

The farmer and his family gave us a tour around the farm. He showed us different crops and plants grown on the farm such as potatoes, onions, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, etc. There were a lot of other crops in the farm, some of which I don’t even know their names.

He also showed us the building where vegetables were treated after they were harvested. Some of the vegetables are usually very hot after they are harvested, so they have to be washed in cold water (about 30 degrees, F) in order to take the heat out of the vegetables- this prevents the vegetables from being stale or spoilt.

In the creek!

More of the creek!

We also went to the creek- my favorite part of the trip. Most of us got in the water- the water was cold and relaxing at the same time! Apart from recreational activities such as swimming, the creek also serves other purposes. Water from the creek is used for irrigation purposes- water is pumped from the creek to water the crops. The farm’s water bills would have been extremely high without the creek, but thanks to creek and drip-irrigation, the farmers save a lot of money.

Mireille, the coordinator of the CDSC Food Pantry

We were also taken to the barn where horses were kept. They had quite a few forses including a younger horse. The farmer and his family were fond of horse-riding. All of the them ride the horses (I guess with the exception of the youngest boy, he’s probably two)  at least once a day (except winter I suppose). The 2nd born (5-year old boy) and the younger sister (maybe she’s about three or four) ride the younger horse while the eldest child (a girl) rides a fully grown horse (i’m guessing she’s about 8 years).

The farmer's oldest son with his horse! He rides it at least once a day (well, except winter)

There are also other animals on the farm- chicken, pigs (there were only two- the farming was raising them for his family), and cows.

We went to look at the cows after we stopped at the creek. However, not everyone was willing to see the cows becaused they preferred to stay in the creek. So, those of us who were willing to go to the cows walked back to the main farm buildings. Since it was only a few of us, the farmer saved us a 20-minutes walk and drove us in his car to area where the cows were gazing. We saw some of the younger cows, the other cows were probably hiding somewhere in the fields. However, the farmer covered the field where the cows grazed with electric wires to prevent them from escaping.

I got the opportunity to observe a CSA. A CSA is a Community Structured Agriculture. I was happy to witness the CSA because I came across it a few days ago when I was browsing through Just Food’s website. I also asked Abby from Just Food to tell me more about the CSAs. CSAs are very good inniatives because it helps us support farmers, promote locally-grown food, and also give residents in the community access to healthy and fresh vegetables. Basically, CSAs are matched with local farmers who deliver fresh vegetables to them in a fixed timely manner, mainly during the harvest seasons. CSA members have to pay fees upfront- the money is given to the farmers to support them to grow crops and pay for expenses. Members mostly meet weekly at a specified time and location to collect their share of vegetables during the harvest season.

Me, chilling by at the tree!

We left around 4p.m- we bit farewell to the farmers and headed back to NYC. Hudson is really pretty- flashes of green invade my vision whenever I mention the name. I even saw some people jet-skiing in the lakes. Most of the houses we passed had boats- definitely not a surprise because they are surrounded with lots of water!

Guess what? I even saw a sign that said “Catskills”. Does that ring a bell? Some of our water in NYC is taken from the Catskills watershed.

We arrived in Brooklyn around 7:30p.m. Then I had to take the subway to get home. The trip was a blast! I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of new things.

I believe the farm trip gives the food pantry clients the opportunity to learn more about the farm that produces much of thier vegetables and also learn more about farming. It also helps them to appreciate farmers and agriculture. Their experience at the farm might spark thier interest in farming and advocating for fresh and organic food!

Food Pantry Program & New York City Water Supply

During these past weeks, I mostly did online research at the Greenproofing office so I haven’t been to the garden, and I also had the opportunity to go on a farm trip to Hudson (I’ll talk about my farm trip in my next post).  However, I visit the CDSC on Thursdays to participate in their weekly Food Pantry Program.  I have taken on a  new role at the Food Pantry- I now run the registration table instead of running the clothing giveaway.  My new role gives me the opportunity to observe what goes on in the room where the food is given away.

The food pantry program always goes pretty well. We always have over 100 clients per week- sometimes we have about 140 clients, sometimes about 160 clients or more. We also give away clothes as usual.

I usually run the registration table with another staff at the CDSC, or a volunteer- at one-time, I ran the registration table with Anasa from Greenproofing.
Each client has to register at our table before they can finally receive the food from the various food stations.  The food stations giveaway different kinds of food. Different food stations give away canned food, vegetables delivered from a farm, vegetables harvested from the CDSC hydroponics farm, bread, cereal, juice, fruits, mac and cheese, rice, milk, peanut butter, etc.  The volunteers from NY cares are always there to help us run the food pantry- they are all very helpful.

I have been working on a power point presentation on the NYC water supply, the conservation of water and ways in which we can save water. This was originally intended for the residents of Harlem- Greenproofing’s Water Champions Program would like to educate them on ways that they could save water and protect the earth as well as save money on their water bills. Greenproofing is engaged in a Water Champions program in conjunction with the EPA, and one of the main goals is to promote the conservation of water. The presentation is informative and you can check it out to learn some facts about the nyc water supply and ways in which you can conserve water. For instance, do you know how water gets to your faucets or what happens to water when you flush your toilet or take a shower? Are you aware of WaterSense products?

Below is the powerpoint presentation on water conservation and the NYC water supply-I uploaded it on slideshare.com. Be sure to check it out!

Water

View more presentations from isanneh

CDSC Food Pantry Program

Last week, I participated in the CDSC’s weekly food pantry program/clothing giveaway.  The food pantry program takes place every Thursday morning and lasts until noon.  There were a lot of people present at the giveaway- but they were mostly seniors.

Employees of the CDSC, volunteers from New York Cares and Anasa  ran the food pantry program.  I was operating the clothing giveaway in another room, but I had the chance to briefly observe the room where the food giveaways were taking place.

I was astonished-canned food made up only a small portion of the food that was given away.  There were lots of fresh vegetables, Kellogg cereals, loaves of bread, slice bread, rice, juice bottles, oil, and other food items.

Vegetables harvested from the hydroponic system!

I noticed that the clients were given numbered labels by the receptionist when they came in the building.  Then, they sat down on seats; there were three sitting areas- the lobby, the room where the clothing giveaway was taking place and the room where the food was being distributed to the clients .  People were called one after the other- they had to go to the registration table first, then to the various food tables to pick up the food of their choice with the help of the servers.

Clothes

The clients were encouraged to join me in the other room to pick up clothes of their choice.  The clothes came in different varieties- kids’ clothing as well as adult male and female clothing.  I was very happy to help them find clothes that fit them.  The satisfaction on their faces as they left the room brought a smile on my face.  Unfortunately, some clothes were left at the end of the program.  All of the clients were generous and they didn’t want to take home clothes that wouldn’t fit them or their families- so hopefully someone else would take them during this week’s food pantry program.

Last week, I also participated in the growing of seeds for the CDSC’s hydroponic system.  Hydroponics is basically planting without the use of soil, so it can be set up indoors or outdoors.  The CDSC has an indoor hydroponic system- some of vegetables such as lettuces that were given away during the food pantry program were harvested from the hydroponic system.

Hydroponics!

Hydroponics!

I also updated Greenproofing’s facebook and twitter pages.  Like us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Greenproofing-Inc/158508695875 and/or follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/Greenproofing

That’s it for now!

My First City Council Hearing

Last week was a productive one for me.  Finally, I had the opportunity to visit the New York City Council and meet some of the Council men and women that I’ve conducted research on last semester.

I was at the New York City Council premises on 250 Broadway to witness a public hearing on two bills that were being introduced by the Council.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stay for the entire hearings because Anasa and I had to go to the garden at Bedford-Stuyvesant.  However, we spent about 2 hours there, and I had a clear picture of the issues that were discussed.

The two bills listed below were proposed by the Committee on Governmental Operations:

Bill 1: Proposed Int. 248-A

Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing reporting requirements for the department of citywide administrative services on the status of city-owned real property.

This bill was proposed by Council members Fidler, Brewer, Chin, Gintile, Koppell, Lander, Mark-Viverito, Nelson, Sanders Jr., Vann, Williams, Rodriguez, Dickens, Halloran and Koo.

Bill 2:  Preconsidered Int.

Title: A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to establishing reporting requirements regarding the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food in and for the city.

This bill was proposed by Council member Dickens.

The two bills emerged as a result of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s FoodWorks Initiative.  The main aim of the The FoodWorks Initiative is to improve the New York City food system.   The 2010 FoodWorks report showed that New York City suffers from “high energy usage and waste throughout all phases of the system; an aging farming population; loss of farmland to development and degradation; an obesity epidemic; and households that suffer from hunger.”

Several city agencies, organizations, and parents testified in the hearing.  The members of the City Council asked questions to the testifiers at the end of their testimonies.  Everyone was in support of the bills with the exception of one government agency- Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Kim Kessler, the Food Policy Coordinator from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services was one of the City agency testifiers in support of the preconsidered bill in “relation to establishing reporting requirements regarding the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food in and for the city.”  However, she believes that some of the requirements of the bills are not attainable.  She stated that:

“While we would like to work with the Council to develop workable reporting requirements, we also caution members of the Committee that some of the provisions of this bill are not at all feasible as currently drafted.  Some of the metrics involve working with complex information sets, or require information requested.  Examples of these include the provision relating to the country and state of origin of DOE’s food products, the provision relating to the amount of grocery store space per capita, and the data requested from the Hunts Point wholesale markets vendors, who would likely view the requested information as proprietary and confidential.  Though we recognize the importance of data, we are also mindful of significant costs that will be associated with collecting certain types of information (particularly information that must be requested of vendors and third parties), as well as the administrative burdens for already strained agencies.”

Furthermore, she testified that some of the data requested in the preconsidered bill are currently collected and monitored by the administration.  For instance, the Department of Health is “conducting an evaluation of both the Green Carts program and Healthy Bodegas to ensure that they are helping to address issues of healthy food access in underserved communities” whereas the DOHMH already monitors “the information that is sought with regard to these programs in the proposed legislation.”

In addition, she believes that some of the information requested by the legislation that are not currently monitored by City agencies are either “difficult or impossible to attain.”  These include the provision of “the number and value of city contracts awarded to food processors located in the city.”

Kessler believes that the City Council and her agency should “work together to ensure that the metrics mandated by the bill achieve the goal of informing sound and responsible policy.”

Another City agent representative that testified was Randal Fong.  Fong is the First Assistant Commissioner of Asset Management  for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS).  Fang and his administration are not in support of “Proposed Int. 248-A.”

The proposed bill mandates the DCAS to “report on 74 data fields regarding all City-owned and leased real property.”  However, according to Fang, the DCAS currently monitors only 4 of the 74 data fields;  his administration doesn’t believe it is feasible for them to monitor the remaining 70 fields because those fields are “collected and maintained by other City agencies” such as the Department of Finance, the Office of Environmental Remediation, and the Economic Development Corporation.

Fang argued that the DCAS should not be held accountable for “ensuring the integrity of data produced by other City agencies” as they would only be responsible for the compilation of the data fields maintained by other City agencies.  He also stated the responsibility of data management lies solely on each individual agency; the DCAS shouldn’t be held liable for the data “produced and transmitted” by other agencies.

He concluded his testimony by stating that:

“For the data required in the legislation to be useful to the public in an effort to identify potential sites for uses such as community gardens or food production, the fields provided in the bill are not all relevant or helpful for such purposes.  Data fields such as assessed value or condominium number will not support the evaluation of property for community or food production uses.  City property characteristics, such as size or zoning, are relevant, but please note that such data is already available online.”

Local residents from the community weren’t left out of the hearing; I witnessed the testimony of two parents that were in support of the “Preconsidered Int.” bill.  One of them was from Ecuador- she had been here for 34 years.  She speaks English but she decided to say her testimony in Spanish to appeal to the Hispanic community.  Unfortunately, I don’t speak Spanish but I’m glad that the Chair of the Committee, Council member Brewer translated what she said in English.  I was also able to find a written copy of her testimony at the Council hearing when I was about to leave.  A copy of the proposed bills, along with written testimonies of the other City agencies were available for people to pick up.  I was able to pick up some of the testimonies.

When we came to the hearing, only a copy of the proposed bills were provided.  I didn’t know that written testimonies would be available later to people who were interested in reading them- so I jotted down some of the testimonies on my n0tebook.

So going back to the woman from Ecuador, she expressed concern over the fact that parents don’t have access to vital information such as the ingredients of the food served by school cafeterias.  She believes that every parent has the right to know what his or her child is eating in school- all the ingredients that are used to produce food in schools should be listed and made publicly available to parents and students.  She is  concerned about the health of every child in New York City including her two young boys- her sons are slightly overweight and run the risk of getting diabetes.

Here is part of her testimony:

“My concerns started when I found out that my kids were eating foods made in other countries and that I as a parent was not able to find out the ingredients of the foods my kids were eating in school.  I have diabetes and the pediatrician told me that my boys are a little overweight.  So I started shopping differently by reading product labels to see what my kids were eating at home.  But when I tried to find out about the foods my kids were eating at school for breakfast and lunch I was not able to find the ingredients and where the food comes from.  For example, the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread served in schools is not really wheat bread.  It is white wheat with caramel color and contains high fructose corn syrup.  I need to know what they are eating at school because I do not want to end their lives with diabetes, high blood pressure, and overweight.  As a parent I believe we have the right to know where the food comes from and what is in it.  I believe that the New York City Department of Education should disclose ingredients of the foods and where it comes from for all parents to see.  I am only one parent of thousands that I am sure they have the same concerns.”

Two other parents in support of the bill testified too.  One of them is a mother of an 8-year old and she works at Bert Israel Hospital.  She believes that everyone has the right to know what’s in their food and every parent has the right to know what’s in their children’s  food.  She further explained that some children might be allergic to certain types of food, and not knowing what’s in the food poses a threat to the lives of children.  Another point she made was that some cultures have food restrictions.  For instance, being a Muslim, I’m not supposed to eat some food like pork.  She ended with a line that I really liked: “What are they hiding?  They need to know.”

The other parent was an educator and a mother of a 9-year old whom she brought along to the hearing so that she could have a better understanding of the issues discussed.  According to the woman, her child performs better in school when she eats home-cooked meals compared to meals from the school cafeteria.  For instance, she used to pack home-cooked lunch for her child to take to school.  However, after sometime, she allowed her child to eat food from the cafeteria.  Her child became “gassy” and often got sick after she started consuming the cafeteria food.  So, she resorted back to packing home-cooked meals for her daughter to take to school.  Since them, her daughter was back to her normal self, performed better in school and wasn’t often sick.

Representatives from organizations such as “We-Act,” “Just Food”, and “Urban Design Lab” testified at the hearings.  All of them were in support of the “Preconsidered Int.” bill and one of them was in support of both bills.  One of them argued that the federal law requires that states should know if food is purchased abroad or grown in the country.  Another talked about problems faced by people interested in leasing a plot for gardening purposes, mainly “who to contact” for leasing a land and their information- it took a guy  named Andrew one and a half years just to find out the owners of the land he wanted to lease for a community garden; it was the property of the NYPD and his request was declined.  One of the testifiers believes that a free database of unoccupied plots that could be used for farming would help New York farmers to grow more nutritious food.

I’m in support of both bills.  I believe that everyone has the right to know what’s in their food and where it’s from.  Parents’ also have the right to attain information about their children’s food.  Food ingredients in school cafeterias should be listed for consumers to see, and they should also be made publicly available to parents interested in knowing what their children are eating.  Parents or children who would like to know where their food originated should be given the information.

In regards to the proposed intro bill No. 248A, I truly believe that the “searchable database of all city-owned and leased properties” would definitely benefit New Yorkers.  It would enable people to search for dormant or underutilized land that they could use for farming purposes, economic development, etc with a few mouse clicks!  That would be really amazing!  It would also promote locally grown food and increase the amount of food production in New York City.

My experience at the Council was phenomenal.  It made me realize that all of us could take part in Policy Formulation- we don’t have to be policy makers in order to effect policy.  Every voice counts and it is our responsibility to make sure our voices are heard.

The New York City Council has different Committees.  Council hearings are listed on their website and they can be accessible by everyone.  Their hearings are open to all the members of the public, so why don’t you go on their website and find an issue that you are really passionate about.

www.council.nyc.gov

Remember, it’s your city-don’t just live in it! make it!  Become involved in the policies that govern your city- make New York City a better place for yourself and the future generation.

Come back soon for more updates on my summer- I’m definitely loving it!

Greenproofing Goes To The Fair!

Last Saturday, I participated in a fair/market place at W142nd Street and Hamilton; I was representing the organization that I’m interning with- Greenproofing. There was music and several performances by people in the community. There was a talented young boy that played the piano really well- I didn’t know that he was blind until Anasa told me. There were other people with tables that  sold food, water, juice, and other items such as earrings, shirts, bags, etc. that they made while others held information sessions to promote their organizations.

Our table was targeted to children. Our aim was to expose them to the notion of recycling through a series of fun environmentally-friendly/ green activities.  I had a lot of fun- my twin-sister, Jarai helped Anasa and I to run our table.  Although the day of the fair was windy, and it rained a little bit, we managed to attract kids to our table.  Kids that participated in our events were able to make plant pots (plant holders) and they were free to take them home at the end of the fun exercises. The exercises were simple- they only required  plastic bottles, newspapers, color paints, paint brushes, corn starch, soil, and plants.

We made a glue solution using corn starch.  The kids made paper mache by cutting the newspapers into pieces and either dipped them into the corn starch solution, or used a paint brush to directly apply the corn starch solution onto the newspapers.  They wrapped the bottles with the newspaper, and  then used color paints and glitters of their choice to color and decorate them.  We put their planters inside the office for a few minutes so they could dry off faster.  The next step was to ask each kid to pick their preferred plant- we only had parsley and ‘long onion sticks’.  Then we put the plant inside the planter and added some soil.

We were able to take pictures of some kids with the permission of their parents.  It was a wonderful experience- the kids were happy with their finished products and they were able to learn more about recycling!

Feel free to try these exercises with kids- it’s a fun way of teaching them about recycling.  I’d definitely try it out with my two adorable cousins, Bakary and Karamo!

Summer Internship

Mr. Prince and I planting a tomato plant!

I’m so excited- I just started my summer Internship with Greenproofing Inc. Greenproofing is a non-profit organization based at the CCNY Economics department.

Their main purpose is to  promote green practices and engage students in environmentally-friendly practices and help them develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills that they can use in the future to address environmental problems in their communities and hopefully provide sustainable solutions to solve the problems.

I’m so fortunate to get the opportunity to work with the General Manager of Greenproofing Inc, Ms. Anasa Scott.  I’ve worked with her before for my service-learning project and I learned a lot about the New York City water supply, the global water crisis, the New York City Council, and a lot more.  I’m looking forward to gaining valuable knowledge from her and this internship experience- I’m sure it would definitely be a great summer.

The first day of my internship went very smoothly.  Anasa and I would be working with another non-profit organization, Child Development Support Corp (CDSC).  CDSC is focused on providing social services  to the residents of Central Brooklyn.  Some of the programs and services they provide include Childcare services, Youth services, and a Food Pantry program.  We would be participating in the Food Pantry program.

The food pantry program is open to disadvantaged NYC residents who cannot afford to feed themselves.  Recipients of the food pantry services are usually given canned food.  However, the CDSC is also interested in providing healthy and fresh vegetables and fruits to its customers.  They have two small garden plots at the Green Thumb gardens close to their main office in Bedford-Stuyvesant.  It is our responsibility (Anasa and I) to grow vegetables, and maintain the garden.

This was my first time in Bedford-Stuyvesant (it’s a nice neighborhood) as well as my first time farming.  The first thing we did was to go shopping at the nearby Home Depot for vegetables to grow.  We bought tomatoes, peppers, parsley- we also wanted to buy green herbs, but unfortunately, we couldn’t find them at the store.  However, Mr Prince promised to get us some green herbs somewhere in town.  Mr Prince is the care taker of the Green Thumbs garden where our plots are located; the garden also houses other plots that belong to other residents of the neighborhood.  Mr Prince is a very nice and funny man originally from Guyana.  He told us stories about his childhood growing up in Guyana-the fishing, farming, alligators, pythons, the lakes-he had a very interesting and adventurous childhood.  He’s very passionate about farming and he helped us a lot in the garden.  Do you know that just like humans, a plant has both a face and a back?  Well, that’s one of the few things that I learned from Mr Prince.  He said that it’s good farming practice to grow a plant with its face facing the east because that’s where the sun rises.

Mr. Prince prepping the soil!

The farming was fun.  First of all, you have to rake the soil, remove rocks or unwanted plants.  Then you plough the soil and make holes for the plants.  The next step is to put compost inside the holes, add some water, and do some mixing.  Finally, the last step is to make a small hole and place the plant inside (with the face to the east) and cover it with some of the soil mixture.  Tadaa! You’re done!

My first farming experience was a blast!  I had a very good time!