November 2009

Stories from November 2009.

Emily Freund -- Food and Farming Initiative Coordinator, PS 29

I don’t think I interacted with more than a handful of people during the first couple weeks (in August) of my job (at a not-in-session public school in Brooklyn); which is ironic considering I had just moved to a city with over 8 million people living in it.  Outside the city it is common practice (if not expected) to say “good morning,” perhaps even smile and strike up a conversation, with the people you pass on the sidewalk.  In this alien place, I spent my first few weeks observing how closed off everyone seemed.  

With this in mind, you can imagine my surprise in discovering that the number of conversations I had with strangers on the sidewalk increased dramatically when I was working in my school’s garden.  Parents and caretakers watching young children would come up to me and ask if they could help water or if there was something they could harvest.  A construction worker from NJ stopped by one day and spent 15 minutes telling me about his tomato plants.  Nearly everyone who walked by would at least pause and look to see what I was doing.  I will leave the take-home message of this story up to whoever may be reading, but I have learned that there is definitely something to be said about a garden’s ability to draw people in and help us to put down the barriers we build around ourselves when living in a city like New York.

Monica Gagnon -- NYC Field Coordinator, World Hunger Year

I began my research for WHY by getting up at the unsettlingly dark hour of five one October morning (a heroic accomplishment in itself, Dear Reader) and climbing into a truck with Olivia, a morning person who runs the Council on the Environment of NYC’s Youthmarket program.  We drove from Brooklyn to Hunts Point, where, after coffee and a corn muffin (still in the dark) Olivia negotiated with wholesale farmers, the truck filled with produce, and I took notes and watched the sky lighten over Long Island.  Then on to Tribeca to pick up flowers and apples from a Greenmarket farmer, and finally our destination: the sidewalk in front of the Fulton Houses in Chelsea where we were joined by youth employees from Fulton Youth of the Future to set up the tents and tables and to lay out the enticing produce for the farm stand.  I spent the day selling veggies, chatting with youth workers and community members, and marveling at the simplicity of the Youthmarket’s success.  The Youthmarket model connects New York area wholesale farmers with community-based organizations in four boroughs of NYC to provide access to fresh, local food in places where such food is not otherwise accessible or affordable.  The program serves to empower community youth who work the farm stands, create a new market for wholesale farmers, and contribute to hunger alleviation and preventative healthcare in underserved communities in NYC.  My caffeinated (and re-caffeinated) brain was inspired to share the program’s accomplishments through WHY’s network.

Sam Lipschultz -- Food Access Project Coordinator, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership

Here is one of my favorite stories from a gardener I work with at the Ingersoll Public Housing in Fort Greene. I entered the scene post-confrontation.

One Tuesday in July, when some of the young ones were out in the garden, trash began to fly. They looked up at the building towering overheard. Two girls were throwing trash at them. 

The gardeners yelled, “Hey! Stop that! Why are you throwing trash at us?!”  The girls scurried inside.

The gardeners returned to their work frustrated and confused by the actions of the young girls from upstairs. Several minutes later, the two girls rounded the corner and walked into the garden. They were trying to look tough, like they were proud to have thrown that trash; their sheepishness shown through.  They wanted to hang out in the garden. 

“Well, then you gotta work,” said an older gardener. 

They agreed to work, but made trouble instead. They avoided the group, kicking woodchips and yelling at one another. But they were allowed to stay. The next week, they came back. Soon, they were two of the most consistent young gardeners—and they worked. They beautified the garden with painted stones and homemade bird feeders, harvested tomatoes and watered plants. On October 10th, we celebrated the first season of the Ingersoll Garden of Eden with a potluck. Everyone came out, even the troublemakers-turned-changemakers, looking as shy as ever.

Lizzy Fox -- Garden/CheVista Internship Coordinator, El Puente

I wear many hats at El Puente. I am the coordinator for the Espíritu Tierra Community Garden. I am the facilitator for our high school internship program, the CheVistas. (CHE = Community, Health, and Environment. Vista= a Spanish ending that shows an affiliation or job title; for example, an activista is an activist; a puppetista is a puppeteer. CHE also stands for Che Guevara. Vista can also be translated to the word “vision.” So, our interns work for our community, health, and environment under the vision of Che Guevara. We’re very creative.) Every once in a while I take a break from my regularly scheduled duties and help choreograph a dance or coach a student’s poetry performance. At any given moment, you can find me emailing gardeners, making lesson plans, teaching my interns to hammer pallets together for a compost bin, or planning events to spread the word about our work.

On November 2nd, I planned one such event. I, along with my CheVistas, my garden members, and coworkers throughout El Puente, organized a garden celebration for Día de los Muertos. Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday honoring loved ones passed on. We chose to celebrate it in the garden to re-inaugurate Espíritu Tierra as a vibrant community space. In order to put on this event, I had to wear all of my hats.

Hat #1: Garden Coordinator: The Garden Coordinator must identify engaged community gardeners who are willing to help plan events. She must meet with them and figure out what they have to offer.
Hat #2: CheVista Facilitator: The CheVista Facilitator must get ideas for games, raffles, and performances from her interns. She must delegate her interns to make these activities happen, prepare hosts and performers for the stage, and make sure interns help her clean the garden.
Hat #3: Stage Manager: The Stage Manager must book all performers (including those from her interns, other El Puente arts programs, and outside performances). She must run around like a crazy woman with a clipboard throughout the event.
Hat #4: Events Planner: The Events Planner must make sure that all of the equipment and materials are set up, fliers are passed out, emails are sent, and people are coming to the event.
Hat #5: Performer: This is not an El Puente Hat. I just thought I deserved to perform a poem after doing all that work.
Hat #6: The Hat of Eternal Gratitude, which is what I wear when I think of everyone that passed out fliers, worked the night of the event, helped set up, met with me to make sure we had all of our security forces and logistics in place, donated and served food, made our fliers, and did all of the other networking and nitty gritty details that I couldn’t fit on (or in) my head.