Option B: Resourcing the Grassroots: Food Justice and Public Health Work in East New York
In 2011, Aida Castillo was an engaged resident who helped raise start-up funds for the People’s Garden, via the Pollos del Pueblo ioby campaign. Now the Community Garden Coordinator for the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC), overseeing multiple East Brooklyn community gardens, Aida will share what she’s learned about initiating and sustaining new programs in low-income communities, and the potential of crowdfunding as a tool for connecting low-income project leaders with resources outside their neighborhood. Joined by other CHLDC staff, the discussion will touch on the complex, multiple impacts of community gardening and urban farming projects, and the challenges of quantifying those impacts within traditional evaluation tools used in the grantmaking community. We’ll travel to East New York Farms! farmers market to hear from Daryl Marshall, Community Organizer and Youth Leader with, a cornerstone of Brooklyn’s urban farming food justice movement. East New York Farms, a program of United Community Centers, runs multiple farm sites, two-successful markets, and a local CSA, providing employment and education opportunities along with affordable local produce. United Community Centers staff will also discuss their role as a hyper-local grantmaker and how they catalyze and support an active, extensive urban gardening community in the midst of one of the most economically challenged areas of the New York City.
(Participants bused between three sites; seating will be provided at the last site, standing for 15-20 minutes may be required at others, but seats can be provided needed.)
