Brownsville on the Water

by Shawn Brooks

The Brownsville Partnership staff cruised the Hudson River enjoying the sounds and vibes of the summer abroad the Skyline Princess. Common Ground's annual summer all staff event brought together all departments and all 350 staff members for a day of food, music, socializing, dancing, and sight seeing as we sailed across the hudson river. The Brownsville Partnership staff all came in our summer best and it was a well deserved day of fun. Can't wait til next year!

Brownsville Partnership Farmer's Market

Are you hungry for food? But not just any food – amazingly fresh, ripe produce that is local and organic? I think your next market destination is the Brownsville Partnership Farmer’s Market on Livonia and Rockaway. The Brownsville Partnership has partnered with GrowNYC to provide healthier food to local Brownsville residents. Every Friday from 2PM to 6PM, we have a stand right across the 3 subway stop. With tables lush with corn, onions, scallions, beets, radishes, cherries, blueberries, and oh, so much more, it’ll be a feast for the eyes as well as hungry bellies. We take WIC, Health Bucks, Food Stamps/EBT, and cash. For every $5 EBT/Foodstamps you spend, you get $2 of FREE Health Bucks. By buying our produce, not only will you be helping out your health, but you’ll be directly supporting the Brownsville community and local farmers.

The Brownsville Community

Each Youthmarket farm stand is like a smallbusiness operated by its staff of teen entrepreneurs. We have employed threeBrownsville teenagers – Kashaun, Toby, and Douglas. After attending GrowNYC’s two-day training in Manhattan and attending various meetings at the Brownsville Partnership office, we’ve prepared them to organize and operate an urban farm stand in Brownsville.

With the guidance of Shane, our experienced Youthmarket coordinator, these young New Yorkers learn all aspects of small business management, including customer service, promotion, and marketing. They’ve also discovered the price and quality advantages of eating seasonal, local produce, as well as the nutritional value of the food they sell.

The Local Farmers

GrowNYC purchases wholesale quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables from local producers participating in the Greenmarket program or at the wholesale market for local growers in Hunt’s Point. This system provides farmers with additional revenue without requiring them to make the costly investments associated with retailing. Because most of the farmers who supply our markets have insufficient staff to handle multiple markets on a single day, the sales achieved through our market would otherwise be difficult to achieve. Furthermore, by expanding the market for locally grown produce, our market helps to keep regional farmland in production and reduce carbon emissions.

We’re going to start cooking classes sometime soon, so be on the look out!