BronxWorks has once again reopened its annual seasonal farm stands, with two locations throughout the borough selling fresh, local and affordable fruits and vegetables to Bronxites until November.
The farm stands have been a staple community summer resource for the better part of a decade, continuously growing in success and reach.
“Here at the farm stand, it’s a community, and we help to give them the healthy food access that they deserve. because it’s really important with the lack of healthy food access and the inequities that BronxWorks steps in to support the community with what they deserve,” said Rachel Gill, Associate Vice President of Community Health Programs at BronxWorks.
“Because of the amazing staff that we have and our partners giving us such amazing produce, everyone always comes back. I think it’s also an indication of the increasing food costs right now with inflation; people really rely on these incentive coupons and SNAP initiatives that we have in order to be able to provide for their families,” Gill said.
The produce is sourced through partnerships with local farmers, including Nolasco Farm in New Jersey and distributor Hudson Harvest.
Both farm stands accept cash, Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program checks, EBT/SNAP benefits and Health Bucks. Health Bucks can be earned through shopping at NYC farmers market and farm stands, including those operated by BronxWorks, using SNAP on an EBT card.
Alisha Sepulveda, Program Coordinator for the Community Health department at BronxWorks, explained that the farm stands also offer live cooking demonstrations and interactive educational healthy eating programs, using produce that is available for purchase.
“We try to do different cultural recipes. So people are not just solely stuck on just their cultural recipe. They learn different cultures and open up their taste palates,” Sepulveda said.
One farm stand, located at 1130 Grand Concourse, will be available on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The other stand at Padre Plaza Garden, located at 545 East 139th Street between Saint Ann’s Avenue & East 139th Street in Mott Haven, will be open on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Every year, the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) provides BronxWorks with youth from the local community to help staff the farm stands.
“They learn these really important job skills, and they get really passionate about how important what they’re doing is,” Gill said. She gleefully recalled how amazed SYEP participants are to try new vegetables, like rainbow carrots, that may not always be readily available in the Bronx.
As the program has been going on for years, Sepulveda shared that she’s developed personal relationships with regular consumers, even if they don’t speak the same language.
“We have a very big Mandarin population that comes to visit. While we may not always understand each other, we do communicate and we’ve grown a kind of friendship, a family, and it’s nice to see them come every year. We always tell them, ‘Tell your friends,’ so that they can continue to come and just establish that relationship and better serve them in the best way we can,” Sepulveda said.
