On September 27th, CFF partnered with the Environmental Grantmakers Association to host a food system tour of New York. Our day was organized by retracing the food system, all with an eye towards what happens in the face of climate disruptions, and what can be done to make our food supply more resilient.
1st Stop – Consumption (Red Hook, Brooklyn)
We started at the Red Hook Initiative (RHI) where we heard from Jill Eisenhard, Executive Director of Red Hook Initiative, and Kalin Callaghan and Luis Casco of Rockaway Wildfire. The two presenters shared how regular community members were called upon to become first responders post-Sandy, and how local organizations filled the gap with efforts such as turning a community space into a kitchen to feed neighbors without power.
View the RHI presentation and Sandy report
View the Rockaway Wildfire presentation
2nd Stop – Distribution (South Bronx)
Our next stop was to at Greenmarket Co’s current food warehouse in Hunts Point. Olivia Branchflower, Director of Wholesale and Distribution, and Cheryl Huber, Greenmarket Assistant Director described the organization’s role in distributing food to community-based efforts after Hurricane Sandy as well as their current programs bringing local food to NYC consumers. We then took a short drive through the nation’s largest food distribution center, also in Hunts Point, and paused at the site of a proposed new regional food hub facility.
View the Greenmarket Co 1-pager from the tour
Watch Greenmarket Co present to CFF about the proposed regional food hub
3rd Stop – Production (Chester, NY)
Our tour ended in the “black dirt” region of the Hudson River Valley, an area heavily impacted by Hurricane Irene in 2011, at the Chester Agricultural Center. We were treated to a locally-sourced lunch and heard from farmers at the at the Center and their partners, including Lisa Stern and Bea Stern of Ralph E. Ogden Foundation, Karen Washington of Rise & Root Farm, Jake Meyers of Northeast Farm Access, Travis Jones of Blooming Hill Farm, and Steve Rosenberg of Scenic Hudson.
View Chester Agricultural Center brochure
Watch a CFF briefing including a presentation on the Chester Agricultural Center
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT
Enjoy a complete slideshow below