We are grateful to our fiscal sponsors Baileys Café, Green Guerillas and Ioby.org for taking in financial support for our programs and small farming project.

We are grateful to our funders, community supporters, collaborators and community partners for helping us to achieve our goals.

 

2011 Hattie Carthan Market Season Report and Revitalization Timeline

2011 After Church Market Hattie Carthan Herban Farm Season Report

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A Presentation on the Impact of Food Justice Activism. Click to Download.

 

 

Background:

Across the United and States, rates of obesity and diabetes are increasing dramatically, particularly within lower-income, African-American, and Latino communities.  In New York City neighborhoods like Bedford Stuyvesant in Central Brooklyn where a third of residents live in poverty, more than 12% of adults have diabetes, compared to 8% nationwide.  In these settings, a growing body of research points to the intersection between low rates of consumption of healthy foods  such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains  and limited access to healthy choices as driving disease rates.

 

 

Hattie Carthan Garden/ Herban Farm / Farmer's Markets Mission statement:

The Hattie Carthan Herban garden, farm and its 2 community markets seek to enhance the quality of life in the Bedford Stuyvesant Central Brooklyn area through:

 

• Educating and empowering vulnerable youths and populations to positively engage with their community through the operation of a socially responsible urban farming enterprise  

• Increasing access to fresh locally grown food and value added farm products in the Bedford Stuyvesant community while providing intergenerational educational programs in the areas of food education, urban agriculture and cultural education

• Preserving Brooklyn's agricultural heritage

 

2009 Impact 

 

• Help 48 low income residents and their families subsidize food budget by growing local food in community garden plots

• Hosted annual free cookout for community residents

• Hosted 13 community workdays in the garden ,organized over 1500 volunteers, who helped clean and revitalize the new market and children garden space,  gain knowledge about tree care, livestock management and composting .

• Reclaimed and revitalized 20ft X 100 ft abandoned lot 

• Designed outdoor community market space with plant installations in marketplace

• Revitalized and designed learning childrens garden

• Distributed 8,344 pounds of locally grown food

• Built chicken coop and raised 10 pullets

• 4 large scale teaching culinary festivals  1Herb festival 2 food festivals,1 Pumpkin festival

• 5 gardening workshops

• 9 cooking demonstrations

• Partnered with neighborhood charter school to create gardening lesson plans and taught school personnel the fundamentals of operating an educational urban farm

• Delivered 48 garden based workshops to 400 elementary aged children of La Cima Charter school 

• Provided five at-risk  high school youths with urban agriculture training, green job experience and a seasonal stipend of $600. 

• Provided rural farmers with income generating opportunities in the urban setting.

 

2010 Impact:

 

• Help 48 low income residents and their families subsidize food budget by growing local food in community garden plots

• Hosted annual free cookout for community residents

• Hosted community workdays in the garden ,organized volunteers, who gained  tree care, livestock management and composting and basic gardening experience.

• Created women security conference to mobilize women in the community

• Created 1 part time green market job 

• Created 1 part time green educator job 

• Distributed 9,741 pounds of food

• Conducted 9 gardening workshops to community residents

• Conducted 11 educational tours

• Conducted 4 bread baking workshops for community residents

• Conducted 4 herbalism workshops to teach residents about the value of herbs in the human diet and urban landscape

• Built second chicken coop 

• Added 20 pullets

• Built outdoor clay oven

• Distributed 142 dozen local eggs to community

• Created alternative distribution program which provides families with vegetables and eggs weekly

• Signed on 21 families to weekly basket program

• Partnered with neighborhood charter school to create gardening lessons and taught school personnel the fundamentals of operating an urban educational farm

• Delivered 48 garden based workshops to 400 elementary aged children of La Cima Charter school 

• Provided five at-risk  high school youths with urban agriculture training, green job experience and a seasonal stipend .

• Provided rural farmers with income generating opportunities and customers in the urban setting.

• Provided food and fitness programming to approximately 800 children via Playstreets closures during the summer months

• Created Hattie Carthan Urban Agriculture Youth corps program which offers at risk high school aged youths an opportunity to Learn and Earn on the farms for 7 months of the year. Seven neighborhood youths Learnt about Urban agriculture and Earned a monthly stipend by working in the market.

• Implemented compost dropoff system converting organic matter into humus and diverting them from the landfill  Processed approx 3 tons of compost

 

2011 Impact:

 

• Help 43 low income residents and their families subsidize food budget by growing local food in their garden plots

• Hosted annual free cookout for community residents

• Reclaimed and revitalized 60 ft X 100ft abandoned lot

• Remediated asphalt ridden lot with organic matter

• Added 15 pullets  2 coops  40 pullets

• Designed herb farm with 3-ton compost bin system & greenhouse

• Created 2nd community based market

• Created 2 part time green market jobs  

• Created 1 part time green educator job 

• Expanded alternative distribution program to deliver vegetables, fruit, eggs and herbs to neighborhood families 

• Distributed 18,879 pounds of food at two markets

• Conducted 20 cooking demonstrations at two markets

• Conducted 3 bread baking workshops for community residents

• Conducted  8 gardening/composting workshops

• Hosted four teaching culinary festivals

• Produced women empowerment conference

• Distributed 350 dozen local eggs to community

• Signed on 38 families to weekly basket program

• Trained and hired 18 neighborhood youths to learn about growing food and Earn a stipend from working in our 2 arkets

• Created an institutional distribution basket for local churches and institutions to sign on for weekly food deliveries

• Provided rural farmers with income generating opportunities and customers in the urban setting.

• Worked with the DOHMH and local authorities to obtain street closure for dangerous street facing market: Provided food and fitness programming to approximately 1200 children via Playstreets closures during the summer months

• Community Board #3. Educated and empowered community residents to learn about compost, to do composting at home or dropoff at market. In 2011 our compost dropoff system grew exponentially converting organic matter into humus and diverting them from the landfill  Processed approx 5 tons of organic waste from community residents living within ¼ mile of both markets thus creating concentrated impact around organic waste in District # 36

• Youth food education workshop series  

• Delivered 2 day food education / seasonal eating workshops to youths to enable them to engage other youths in food conversations and conduct cooking demos in the markets. Youth food educators earn a stipend for doing cooking demonstrations. 

• Leadership training series  

• Delivered 6 part Food justice workshop series to community residents to demystify food justice, learn about systemic racism and inequities in the food system and advance a strong grassroots collective to advance empowering models for change. 

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2012 Impact:

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• Created institutional food distribution programs which provided fresh produce to 3 local food institutions • Expanded alternative distribution program to deliver vegetables, fruit, eggs and herbs to neighborhood families 

• Distributed 28,879 pounds of food at two markets

• Conducted 25 cooking demos at two markets, 3 bread baking workshops for community residents utilizing market cob oven, 8 gardening/composting workshops 

• Hosted four teaching culinary festivals

• Distributed 420 dozen local eggs to community residents 

• Served 65 local families in weekly market basket program

• Recruited, trained, mentored and employed 18 neighborhood youths to learn about growing food and Earn stipend working in our 2 markets

• Created distribution basket for local churches and institutions to sign on for weekly food deliveries

• Provided food and fitness programming to approximately 1200 children on previously dangerous street via Playstreets closures during the summer months

• Educated and empowered community residents to learn about compost dropoff system grew exponentially- approx

• 8 tons of organic waste from community residents living within 1 mile of both markets

• Youth food education workshop series

• Delivered basic herbalism training to youths, 7 day food education / seasonal eating workshops

• Youth food educators earn a stipend for doing cooking demos

• Leadership training series

• Delivered Racism and Food justice trainings to community residents to help demystify “food justice,” learn about systemic racism and inequities in the food system in order to advance a strong grassroots collective to advance empowering models for change.

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2013 Impact:

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• Designed Herbal Apothecary Farm

• Recruited and trained community volunteers in basic urban agriculture and market coordination

• Completed 2 murals on herb farm with local artists

• Created aquaculture scene in herbal apothecary farm

• Expanded alternative distribution program

• Cultivated 9,430 pounds of local nutrient dense food

• Distributed 42,879 pounds of food at two markets

• Conducted 20 youth led cooking demos at two markets

• Conducted 20 adult led urban agriculture workshops/cooking demos

• Conducted 3 bread baking workshops for local residents utilizing market cob oven

• Hosted three communal dinners on herb farm 

• Conducted 1st herbalism 2 day immersion intensive

• Hosted 5 herbalism workshops for preventive health

• Hosted 2 solstice celebrations on herb farm

• Produced 2 culinary festivals

• Organized garden memorial exhibit oral histories project dinner and movie night

• Distributed 520 dozen local eggs to community residents

• Served 81 local families in weekly market basket program

• Provided African drum and dance workshops in markets

• Processed 10 tons of organic waste from community residents

• Organized women artists, farmers and homesteaders Holiday artesian market at herb farm

• Youth food education workshop series – basic herbalism training

• Leadership training series – Delivered Racism and Food justice trainings to community residents advance empowering models for change.

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