Announcing Awesome NYC’s October grant: Bushwick City Farms:
Bushwick City Farms is a network of open spaces run by neighborhood volunteers that provides free food, clothing and educational programs for the community. BCF farms create a unique opportunity to experience active models of responsible food production in the city. In addition to producing free organic vegetables and eggs at the farm’s main locations, we host school field trips and youth service groups, hold free beginner’s English classes for speakers of other languages, and coordinate with local businesses to distribute bread and fresh produce donations. Every Sunday free food and clothing is distributed at the farms main location at 897 Broadway.
We collaborate with property-owners for the free availability of their vacant, often neglected lots and turn these spaces into beautiful productive community farms that are safe for the community to enjoy. With the help of local community residents BCF cleans out the lots, constructs raised vegetable beds, chicken coops and ranges, community compost systems and greenhouses, all from recycled (dumpstered) materials. BCF transforms vacant lots into community green spaces which beautify the block, attract passersby, and serve as an educational, environmental and humanitarian resource for the entire neighborhood. BCF also started a school garden program that provides public schools with free garden construction and maintenance, we built and maintain a garden for PS 123. Our next project is a school garden for PS 377 which will be funded by the Awesome Foundation Grant! This project will include building raised veggie beds, a compost system and planting several fruit trees, to transform the school space into a mini farm for the students to maintain & enjoy.
