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Aetna Voices of Health Competition

Harlem Grown

 

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Harlem Grown



Harlem Grown's mission is to inspire youth to lead healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship and hands-on education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition. We are a team of dedicated and passionate individuals striving to make our communities socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable spaces. As we like to call it, our farmily is made up of educators, farmers, chefs, volunteers, and so much more.

Healthy habits start young, which is why our programs target youth. Because food justice is more than just providing and distributing food, our model seeks to positively impact the entire community through mentorship, education, and partnerships to create sustainable change. We operate year-round through a series of programming offered to our youth, families, and community, all free of charge. During the academic school year, we place educators and mentors in each of our five partner schools where they teach cooking and garden lessons to students between grades K - 5. In addition to this in-school programming, we offer Educational Farm Tours to all schools, with curricula catered to grades K-8. These give teachers and students from throughout New York a chance to visit one of our farm sites and experience a hands-on tour and lesson in a living classroom. Outside of school-related opportunities, our Central Farms are in season between April and October, and we host drop-in volunteers and youth every Saturday for our Open Volunteer Day. During this time, community members are able to enjoy free yoga in the morning, work alongside farmers throughout the afternoon, and leave with a free bag of fresh, Harlem Grown produce.

Since 2011, Harlem Grown has transformed seven vacant spaces into productive urban farms and greenhouses, and developed four school gardens, using innovative and sustainable agricultural methods. Of the aforementioned greenhouse spaces, one of our hydroponic systems is the Juice Generation Impact Farm, a two-story, indoor, vertical hydroponic system. The first of its kind in the United States, this system has an incredibly small footprint, and can grow more than a ton of produce.

The 6,000+ pounds of produce provided by all of our sites are distributed to community members free of charge, sold to local restaurants, and used in educational activities that promote healthy eating and nutrition. Our farms act as green havens, providing the wider community with the uncommon opportunity to witness and engage in local food production.

Our contact info:

Harlem Grown

If you're interested in learning more about our work, feel free to visit us at www.harlemgrown.org or email info@harlemgrown.org.