The NYCHA Journal

The NYCHA Journal has informed and inspired residents since 1970, covering the news, contributions, and uplifting stories of the NYCHA community while providing the latest information on Authority initiatives.

Farm1

Building Healthy Communities

LaToya

To thrive, people need access to more than just doctors and medical services – the recipe for a healthy community includes fresh, healthy foods, public spaces for exercise and play, and a sense of safety. Not every neighborhood in New York City has all the ingredients to promote overall health, but soon residents from 12 neighborhoods that incorporate more than 50 NYCHA developments, will be offered an abundant array of healthy opportunities as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s new Building Healthy Communities (BHC) program.

Launched in December, BHC is a multi-million dollar initiative that brings together private corporations, nonprofit organizations, and 10 city organizations, including NYCHA. Philanthropic partners include Unilever, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, and the New York State Health Foundation.

A major component of BHC is the creation of five urban farms modeled on NYCHA’s Red Hook Houses farm which will provide approximately four tons of local and affordable fresh produce per year, per farm. The next urban farm will be created at Howard Houses in Brownsville.

“The NYCHA Farm at Red Hook has been a huge success—allowing young residents to help build community connections and promote health while receiving valuable job training,” explains Andrea Mata, NYCHA’s Senior Manager for Community Health Initiatives. “Residents at developments across the City are excited about creating more farms.”

At the Red Hook Farm, Green City Force Corps Members—NYCHA residents 18-24-years-old—build and cultivate the farm and help train volunteers. BHC will allow Green City Force to provide training to approximately 60 young adult NYCHA residents who will join the Urban Farm Corps. In addition to training NYCHA residents and community member volunteers, Corps Members will provide nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, and community-wide events.

“I feel honored and humbled to be a part of a change that so many individuals are going to be able to benefit from,” said Nefratia Coleman, a Corps Member from Walt Whitman Houses. “The building of the farms is a start and a very big one at that. First you start with the food, a healthy eating habit, then there will be a ripple effect on the way of living and thinking that will become different. This is something NYCHA as a community needs, and it will make such a difference.

“Growing up in these kinds of neighborhoods, you pick up a lot of bad habits that are also hard to change, but in that change comes a lot of benefits, and now it is the time for a great change within the city, within the community, and most importantly, within ourselves,” adds Corps Member Chris Guerrero of Samuel Houses. “As a young Hispanic male, I’m glad to be a part of a much-needed, beneficial plan to integrate better living and health conditions to the places in New York City that need it the most.”

In addition to urban farms, the Building Healthy Communities initiative includes expanding school gardens, building more pedestrian plazas to encourage walking, running, and biking; providing more outdoor spaces for kids to play; installing outdoor adult exercise equipment; extending community center hours; and improving public safety by installing lighting and cameras.To learn more about BHC, visit www.nyc.gov/healthycommunities.

Green City Force is currently recruiting young adult NYCHA residents for its next cohort, visit www.greencityforce.org/ for more information.