NEW FARMERS MARKET SERVING THE MOUNT HOPE COMMUNITY IN THE BRONX TO OPEN IN ECHO PARK JULY 8TH
FROM: CITY HARVEST
575 Eighth Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Rubenstein Public Relations
Telephone: (212) 843-9341
Contact: Talia Mann
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
NEW FARMERS
MARKET SERVING THE MOUNT HOPE COMMUNITY IN THE BRONX TO OPEN IN ECHO
PARK JULY 8TH
Bronx, New York,
July 7, 2009 – Harvest Home Farmers Market, Inc., City Harvest,
and the Montefiore School Health Program are pleased to announce the
opening of a new weekly farmers market at Echo Park, on East Tremont
Avenue between Anthony and Webster Avenues, July 8th through
November 18th. Harvest Home Farmers Market formed a collaboration
with City Harvest and the Montefiore School Health Program to introduce
more affordable, healthy dietary options to residents of Mount Hope
and the greater Bronx community. The Echo Park Farmers Market
will be open every Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. starting July
8th.
The new farmers market is comprised
of three local farmers accepting EBT/Food Stamps, other farmers
market coupons, and will be operated by Harvest Home Farmers Market,
Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to encourage economic opportunities
in communities by bringing fresh produce and locally made goods to the
neighborhoods they serve. An opening celebration that will involve community
residents and dignitaries is scheduled for July 22nd.
The development of the Echo
Park Farmers Market is a step towards eliminating barriers to good health.
Farmers markets provide a familiar and accessible venue for community
members to purchase fresh, locally grown produce. In a Community
Food Assessment published by City Harvest, 30% of respondents to a Mount
Hope community survey performed in Summer 2008 said they would like
to see a farmers market in their neighborhood. In addition, a June 2008
report from the Bronx District Public Health Office reported that 4
out of 10 people have difficulty finding fresh, affordable produce in
the South Bronx and that South Bronx residents who shop at farmers markets
eat more fruits and vegetables than those who do not use these outlets.
“I would like to thank the
members of the Montefiore School Health Program, especially Megan Charlop,
for extending an invitation to Harvest Home to establish this market,
“ said Maritza Owens, founder of Harvest Home, Inc. “Harvest
Home will offer a traditional farmers market that will help ensure the
availability of safe, fresh, nutritious, and affordable food for Mount
Hope residents, senior citizens, and children.”
"City Harvest has seen
the strong desire people have to find quality fresh produce at a reasonable
cost, particularly in the South Bronx. We’ve heard this from our relationships
with participants at City Harvest’s Mobile Markets in the Melrose
neighborhood and members of the Mount Hope CSA,” said Jilly Stephens,
City Harvest's executive director. “We have also collected data through
Community Food Assessments demonstrating that outlets that offer affordable,
healthy food, such as farmers markets, will be well received in the
community.”
City Harvest, Just Food, and
the Montefiore School Health Program have partnered on a Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) project in the Mount Hope area since 2007. The
goal of this project was to help bring a greater amount of fresh produce
into an underserved community where real demand for affordable nutritious
food is evident. With the close of the CSA, City Harvest and the
Montefiore School Health Program asked Harvest Home Farmers Markets,
Inc., to consider opening a market in the neighborhood to ensure that
the community would have continued access to healthy, fresh, and local
food.
Operation of the CSA as well
as the current farmers market partnership are part of City Harvest’s
larger Healthy Neighborhoods program, developed to support the availability
of affordable fresh produce in targeted low-income neighborhoods in
New York City where healthy food is not always available and to encourage
healthy nutritional behaviors among those at risk for diet-related diseases.
Healthy Neighborhoods is supported by donors such as the USDA and The
New York Community Trust.
Open air markets once found
mostly in upscale Manhattan neighborhoods have been established in many
high need communities through the work of organizations like Harvest
Home. This year Harvest Home will operate 13 farmers market in
the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn and a Youth Farmstand at the Children’s
Storefront School on 129th Street in East Harlem.
Participants in the Women,
Infants, Children's (WIC) program and Senior Citizens’ Meals Programs
can redeem New York State Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) checks
to purchase their produce. In addition, shoppers who receive
“Health Bucks” coupons from the NYC Department of Health District
Public Health Offices are encouraged to use these $2 coupons at all
participating markets.
About City Harvest
Now serving New York City for more than 25 years, City Harvest (www.CityHarvest.org) is the world’s first food rescue
organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men, women, and
children. This year, City Harvest will collect 26 million pounds of
excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants,
grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. This food is
then delivered free of charge to more than 600 community food programs
using a fleet of trucks and bikes as well as volunteers on foot. Each
week, City Harvest helps over 260,000 hungry New Yorkers find their
next meal.
About Harvest Home Farmers
Market, Inc.
In operation since 1993 Harvest Home (www.harvesthomefm.org) has been instrumental in changing
conventional wisdom and public perception that farmers markets can be
successful in communities that are systematically overlooked, under
served and have the greatest need for these products.
The work of HHFM has increased
residents' access to high quality, locally grown fresh produce. With
the primary goal of increasing the consumer base to all demographics,
all markets are approved to redeem Women, Infants, Children's (WIC)
program New York State Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and Senior
Citizens' Meals Program checks, New York City Department of Health "Health
Bucks" and Electronic Benefit Transfer/Food Stamps (EBT).
About Montefiore School
Health Program
Montefiore Medical Center is the second largest hospital in New York
City and the university hospital for the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine. It is the leading provider of medical services to the 1.4
million residents of the Bronx. Founded in 1984, Montefiore's
School Health Program is one of the most visible aspects of Montefiore's
commitment to vulnerable populations. Under the leadership of
David Appel, M.D., the program has grown to be the largest and most
comprehensive school-based health care network in the country and a
major community outreach program. Each school-based health center provides
primary and preventive medical, mental health and dental services including
physical exams, reproductive health care, care of acute and chronic
health problems, vaccination programs, on-site dental care and mental
health services. The School Health Program provides the comprehensive
care of a community medical practice in 16 New York City public elementary,
middle and high schools. Each year, more than 20,000 students enroll
in the program and make over 60,000 visits to the clinics.
