Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:During our fifth year of Bronx Canasta, we continued to focus our efforts on helping the founding group of individuals behind Boogie Down. Tambrin. They had submitted a recipe in Years 1-2 to create a value-added product. In year 5 we continued working closely with Kim Vallejo and brought her on as a consultant to work with the Boogie Down Tambrin to help them build up their product in the hopes of getting to sell it at local farmers markets, Along with the Boogie Down Tambrin we have also worked with three individuals in helping them to also establish their value-added products that are all on the beginning and mid stages of development. This included SoulFrito, which originated from Sunny, who is a gardener and leader at New Roots Community Farm. Along with supporting the groups and individuals in developing their value-added products, we continued to work and support local community gardens in the Bronx, providing technical assistance, increasing the production of produce, and giving access to fresh produce to local residents across the Bronx. Changes/Problems:During year 5 our no-cost extension, we still had issues with capacity and availability of group members, as these times have been challenging for many groups and individuals. It opened a larger conversation as the City saw the potential in community gardens when they stepped up to feed hungry New Yorkers during the pandemic, that more funding and support needs to go to the community gardens to continue their efforts and expand their reach. Garden's are volunteer ran and based and it is a bueatiful thing but as we saw in year five many gardeners are at capacity with what they can do and take on to do. We do plan and our partners to continue working with the garden groups advocating on their behalf, and supporting their value added products as we continue to look into additional funding to support additional start up costs of the groups and gardens. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During year five we did not provide any additional trainings or workshops but we did continue to provide professional development and one on one services for the groups forming their own value added products. We also continued bi-weekly meetings that was open to all the urban farms and community garden members. This group has met multiple times through out the year to work on value added product development, business plan development, and next steps towards creating value added products which also includes conversations and guidance around getting licensed to be able to produce and sell their value added products. These meetings were led by our partners Bronx Green-Up of the New York Botanical Garden. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During year 5 we continued to reach out to garden groups who were interested to join the bi-monthly calls and to discuss the opportunities of creating value added products and additional sites and starting farmers markets. Year five also included a lot of meetings discussing new funding opportunities and how these projects will continue after the USDA funding finished. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase urban farm production through the implementation of agricultural best practices - We have officially enrolled 7 Farm / Community garden sites into our program, all which have participated in the Grow More Vegies course that focused on increase farm production and sustainable practices. Each site has received technical assistance from Bronx Green Up to help them get to a better place and utilizing their gardens and farms in the best way to increase production. The Bronx Canasta Project was able to accomplish this goal mid-way through year three and year 4, when four more garden sites were officially brought on to the program. The first year of increased production using the new crop plans (harvested at the beginning of grant year 2) resulted in a total yield of 4,266 lbs. of produce. The second year of increased production (grant year 3) resulted in a yield of 12,483 lbs. of produce. The third year of increased production (grant year 4), resulted in a yield of 13,884 lbs. The fourth year of increased production (grant year 5, extended year) resulted in a yield of about 15,000 lbs. of produce. To grow this food, more than 1400 square feet of space used to grow food was added to the seven gardening sites. Goal 2: Improve fresh food access for Bronx communities - In the first year of the grant, 110 square feet of land at each of the three sites was dedicated to growing food for vulnerable community members. In the second year of the grant, which was the most impacted by COVID, 100% of the land at all seven sites was dedicated to growing food for community members. During this time, MMFYC worked with Bronx Canasta partners to establish hubs to distribute produce from gardens to community members (which later became known as the South Bronx Food Hub and Bronx Food Hub). In years three-five, the space allocated to growing food for community members was increased to at least 200 square feet at all seven urban sites. Goal 3: Create value added products which incorporate Bronx grown crops - During year five we continued work with the Boogie Down Tambrin group to help them develop their value added product. In partnership with a faciliator that has assisted our program in the beginning when trying to get the Boogie Down Tambrin recipe approved through Cornell University. Continued to work with our porgram and helped the Boogie Down Tambrin and continued working with the individuals from New Roots Farm and Morris Campus Educational Farm to form their own value added products. Boogie Down Tambrin and SoFrito got to test and sample their products at their markets and began to sell their product towards the end of this grant contract term. We are looking forward to continuing to work and support the groups after to get them connected to markets and expand their products. Goal 4: Expand skills of students, refugees and community gardeners in culinary arts, product development, urban agriculture and entrepreneurship- Our Farm Representatives were able to complete the trainer of trainers Training, Grow more Veggies, and the Culinary Course during their time being a part of the Bronx Canasta Project. During year five we continued one on one support of the garden sites and the groups and individuals creating value added products, we were able to purchase supplies for support of the gardens and the creation, development of the value added products. Goal 5: Develop a long-term and sustainable business model that allows the farms and growers the opportunity to generate income and make collaborative decisions- During the first grant year, Bronx Canasta worked with farm representatives under the mentorship of Bronx Hot Sauce producers to learn the process of growing, producing, packaging, and selling a value-added product. Multiple meetings were held to determine successes and challenges and to establishing new avenues for production. During the second year of the program, planning and production were shut down due to COVID. In the third grant year, Bronx Canasta worked with Take Root Justice and the Business Outreach Center Network to organize Kelly Street as a business. However, due to limited capacity and changing community interest, in grant year 4 and into year 5, KBM Spices and Things was established as a business entity solely for the three founders. KBM Spices and Things business model established the Kelly Street kitchen as an incubator kitchen, to make it available to other community gardeners. MMFYC also made their commercially licensed kitchen available to Bronx Canasta participants. Ultimately, Bronx Canasta was able to help establish an avenue for other community gardeners to produce and sell value added products. Goal 6: Partner with for-profit local food business and nonprofit organizations to package, market and distribute value added products.- We have continued our research and thr groups creating value added products decided to test the waters first with local markets before expanding to for-profit organziations. Goal 7: Increase community income related to urban farm products- All 14 participating urban farm representatives received a stipend for their participation. At present, KBM Spices and Things began selling Boogie Down Tambrin. While the market season was underway at the end of the grant extension period, no sales data were available due because sales just began.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 11/30/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During our fourth year of Bronx Canasta we continued to focus our efforts on helping the group of individuals behind Boogie Down Tambrin, this was the group that submitted a recipe in Year 1-2 to create a value added product. We have been working closely with Kim Vallejo and has brought her on as a consultant to work with the Boogie Down Tambrin to help them build up their product in the hopes of getting to sell it at local farmers markets, Along with the Boogie Down Tambrin we have also worked with three individuals in helping them to also establish their value added products that are all on the beginning and mid stages of development. We continued to work with local community gardens in the Bronx providing technical assistance, increase production of produce, and giving access of fresh produce to local residents across the Bronx. Changes/Problems:We are going to do a no cost year of extension to continue our work and to help the groups we have been working with for the past 2-4 years in creating value added products. We are still having issues with capacity and availability of group members, as these times have been challenging for many groups and individuals. This is something we hope will get better at the start of the new year before the growing season. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During year four we did not provide any additional trainings or workshops but we did provide professional development that was open to all the urban farms and community garden members. This group has met multiple times through out the year to work on value added product development, business plan development, and next steps towards creating value added products which also includes conversations and guidance around getting licensed to be able to produce and sell their value added products. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During year 4 the information and professional development was only provided to the Bronx Canasta group primarily due to capacity and staffing. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase urban farm production through the implementation of agricultural best practices - We have officially enrolled 7 Farm / Community garden sites into our program, all which have participated in the Grow More Vegies course that focused on increase farm production and sustainable practices. Each site has received technical assistance from Bronx Green Up to help them get to a better place and utilizing their gardens and farms in the best way to increase production. The Bronx Canasta Project was able to accomplish this goal mid-way through year three and year 4, when four more garden sites were officially brought on to the program. Goal 2: Improve fresh food access for Bronx communities - Each Farm site has continued to provide fresh produce to Bronx residents especially during the time when COVID-19 affected NYC and The Bronx and when food disparities were extremely high. Food disparirities continue to be high in NYC and The Bronx, as new families are coming in from different backgrounds and accessibility.During year four we can proudly say that once againbetween 3,000-4,000lbs of produce were harvested amongst the community gardens and urban farms participating in the Bronx Canasta project. Goal 3: Create value added products which incorporate Bronx grown crops - During year four we continued work with the Boogie Down Tambrin group to help them develop their value added product. In partnership with a faciliator that has assisted our program in the beginning when trying to get the Boogie Down Tambrin recipe approved through Cornell University, she has come on board once again to help the Boogie Down Tambrin and other individuals who are looking to start value added products of their own. She has been working with two individuals and the Boogie Down Tambrin as a group to help them towards getting to the next step. One of the individuals is just on the beginning planning stages of using tomatoes from their urban school farm to create a sauce, another individual is harvesting produce from their partnering urban farm to create and make a "Sofrito" which will also include the history and cultural music behind the meaning of "Sofrito". They are also in the beginning planning stages but have already started the testing process of their marinade and next steps would be to take it to get approved through Cornell for processing. Goal 4: Expand skills of students, refugees and community gardeners in culinary arts, product development, urban agriculture and entrepreneurship- Our Farm Representatives were able to complete the trainer of trainers Training, Grow more Veggies, and the Culinary Course during their time being a part of the Bronx Canasta Project. We are now looking into continuing providing support through one on one assistance that may needed to help them continue to grow in making their own value added products. Goal 5: Develop a long-term and sustainable business model that allows the farms and growers the opportunity to generate income and make collaborative decisions- At the moment we are now working with the original group who submitted the Boogie Down Tambrin recipe in helping them to become a business for themselves, and for them to create further products under their own name. We are also working simultaneously to decide what is to become of the Bronx Canasta Program, the program originally was in thought process of becoming a cooperative and that is something all members are still thinking about but also weighing the thought of becoming an umbrella entity or an incubator to help new startup that are members of community gardens to get started in creating their own value added products. The program needs a program director to continue the work after the funding from USDA is completed and that is something we are still looking into and the moment. Goal 6: Partner with for-profit local food business and nonprofit organizations to package, market and distribute value added products.- We have continued our research and are working on narrowing our decisions based on the feedback now being provided by the original creators of the Boogie Down Tambrin. Goal 7: Increase community income related to urban farm products- Due to COVID-19 we have not got the opportunity yet to finalize the product and begin selling to the community, we are very hopeful in starting this process during our extended program year.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During our fourth year of Bronx Canasta we continued to focus our efforts on helping the group of individuals behind Boogie Down Tambrin, this was the group that submitted a recipe in Year 1-2 to create a value added product. We have been working closely with Kim Vallejo and has brought her on as a consultant to work with the Boogie Down Tambrin to help them build up their product in the hopes of getting to sell it at local farmers markets, Along with the Boogie Down Tambrin we have also worked with three individuals in helping them to also establish their value added products that are all on the beginning and mid stages of development. We continued to work with local community gardens in the Bronx providing technical assistance, increase production of produce, and giving access of fresh produce to local residents across the Bronx. Changes/Problems:We are going to do a no cost year of extension to continue our work and to help the groups we have been working with for the past 2-4 years in creating value added products. We are still having issues with capacity and availability of group members, as these times have been challenging for many groups and individuals. This is something we hope will get better at the start of the new year before the growing season. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During year four we did not provide any additional trainings or workshops but we did provide professional development that was open to all the urban farms and community garden members. This group has met multiple times through out the year to work on value added product development, business plan development, and next steps towards creating value added products which also includes conversations and guidance around getting licensed to be able to produce and sell their value added products. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During year 4 the information and professional development was only provided to the Bronx Canasta group primarily due to capacity and staffing. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue working on all of these goals for year 5 to continue to try to sell and produce the value added product.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase urban farm production through the implementation of agricultural best practices - We have officially enrolled 7 Farm / Community garden sites into our program, all which have participated in the Grow More Vegies course that focused on increase farm production and sustainable practices. Each site has received technical assistance from Bronx Green Up to help them get to a better place and utilizing their gardens and farms in the best way to increase production. The Bronx Canasta Project was able to accomplish this goal mid-way through year three and year 4, when four more garden sites were officially brought on to the program. Goal 2: Improve fresh food access for Bronx communities - Each Farm site has continued to provide fresh produce to Bronx residents especially during the time when COVID-19 affected NYC and The Bronx and when food disparities were extremely high. Food disparirities continue to be high in NYC and The Bronx, as new families are coming in from different backgrounds and accessibility. During year four we can proudly say that once again between 3,000-4,000lbs of produce were harvested amongst the community gardens and urban farms participating in the Bronx Canasta project.Goal 3: Create value added products which incorporate Bronx grown crops - During year four we continued work with the Boogie Down Tambrin group to help them develop their value added product. In partnership with a faciliator that has assisted our program in the beginning when trying to get the Boogie Down Tambrin recipe approved through Cornell University, she has come on board once again to help the Boogie Down Tambrin and other individuals who are looking to start value added products of their own. She has been working with two individuals and the Boogie Down Tambrin as a group to help them towards getting to the next step. One of the individuals is just on the beginning planning stages of using tomatoes from their urban school farm to create a sauce, another individual is harvesting produce from their partnering urban farm to create and make a "Sofrito" which will also include the history and cultural music behind the meaning of "Sofrito". They are also in the beginning planning stages but have already started the testing process of their marinade and next steps would be to take it to get approved through Cornell for processing. Goal 4: Expand skills of students, refugees and community gardeners in culinary arts, product development, urban agriculture and entrepreneurship- Our Farm Representatives were able to complete the trainer of trainers Training, Grow more Veggies, and the Culinary Course during their time being a part of the Bronx Canasta Project. We are now looking into continuing providing support through one on one assistance that may needed to help them continue to grow in making their own value added products. Goal 5: Develop a long-term and sustainable business model that allows the farms and growers the opportunity to generate income and make collaborative decisions- At the moment we are now working with the original group who submitted the Boogie Down Tambrin recipe in helping them to become a business for themselves, and for them to create further products under their own name. We are also working simultaneously to decide what is to become of the Bronx Canasta Program, the program originally was in thought process of becoming a cooperative and that is something all members are still thinking about but also weighing the thought of becoming an umbrella entity or an incubator to help new startup that are members of community gardens to get started in creating their own value added products. The program needs a program director to continue the work after the funding from USDA is completed and that is something we are still looking into and the moment. Goal 6: Partner with for-profit local food business and nonprofit organizations to package, market and distribute value added products.- We have continued our research and are working on narrowing our decisions based on the feedback now being provided by the original creators of the Boogie Down Tambrin. Goal 7: Increase community income related to urban farm products- Due to COVID-19 we have not got the opportunity yet to finalize the product and begin selling to the community, we are very hopeful in starting this process during our extended program year.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The Bronx Canasta Program was able to sucessfully enroll and engage with all the exisiting and new Farm Sites the partnering locations now include: Morris Campus Eductaional Farm, New Roots Community Farm, Brook Park Youth Farm, Morning Glory Commnity Garden, Kelly Street Community Garden, La Finca Del Sur, and Community Access Garden. Each of the farm sites engaged 1-2 community farm representatives to particpate in sessions to come in the next year. During this year each new site was able to connect with community residents provide them with fresh vegetables and fruits being grown from their site to ease the stress placed on the communities from COVID. This year we also refocused our attention on putting together the value added product - Boogie Down Tambrin. The original members who created the sauce has now joined the Bronx Canasta Program and we have been assiting them to get to the next steps of creating the sauce and starting their own business venture outside of Bronx Canasta. Changes/Problems:The major change that happened this year was we put in a request for nonfunded year of extension. We are still waiting to hear back from USDA on this request as we hope that we can get another year to continue all our efforts and programs, due to us losing a year of from COVID. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In year 3 we were able to complete the rest of the training of trainers training for the members that were enrolled. As a group and based off the needs of the Farm Sites we decided to focus on technical assistance, instead of providing the full Grow More Veggies Course. This decision was primarily since all the existing and new members had taken the course previously, we wanted to be sure we are providing the most informative information and providing support. The technical assistance helped the farm sites better plan for a full growing season and production of produce that went straight to Bronx communities during the time COVID. As for the Entrepreneurship course it was originally scheduled for the end August beginning of September of the new fiscal year but due to the local storms that hit the community we pushed the classes back to October 2021. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have quarterly meetings that now not only the existing members of Bronx Canasta can join but we also welcome other community members from the gardens to participate. We opened the classes to any Bronx residents that engage with community gardens or urban farms who are interested in participating, not just to the members of the Bronx Canasta Program. The Bronx Canasta Program still has their website up and running with the programs, it now must be updated with the new participants. www.bronxcanasta.nyc What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue our efforts in supporting the Boogie Down Tambrin group in establishing and creating the Boogie Down Tambrin sauce / marinade. We will continue our research on becoming an umbrella organization and supporting Boogie Down Tambrin in becoming their own business entity. We will continue to support our Farm Partners in strengthen their ability to serve the community with fresh produce and continue to plan in creating their own value-added products as well. Lastly, we are waiting to hear back and receive confirmation regarding our request to extend our program for another year to allow us to achieve the rest of our goals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase urban farm production through the implementation of agricultural best practices - We have officially enrolled 7 Farm / Community garden sites into our program, all which have participated in the Grow More Vegies course that focused on increase farm production and sustainable practices. Each site has received technical assistance from Bronx Green Up to help them get to a better place and utilizing their gardens and farms in the best way to increase production. Goal 2: Improve fresh food access for Bronx communities - Each Farm site has continued to provide fresh produce to Bronx residents especially during this time of COVID when food disparities were extremely high. We can proudly say that between 3,000-4,000lbs of produce were harvested amongst the community gardens and urban farms participating in the Goal 3: Create value added products which incorporate Bronx grown crops - We have picked back up our efforts in creating and establishing the Boogie Down Tambrin dressing / marinade. Due to Covid-19 we had to pause our programming, but we are now working closely with the members who submitted the recipe and have had multiple meetings on planning the labeling, bottling, production, selling, and establishing Boogie Down Tambrin as their own business entity. Goal 4: Expand skills of students, refugees and community gardeners in culinary arts, product development, urban agriculture and entrepreneurship - Our Farm Representatives were able to complete the trainer of trainers Training, the last session of the course was originally delayed due to Covid in the previous year. All the groups enrolled had taken Grow More Veggies and thus we decided to focus this year on technical assistance for the new sites and existing sites to help get their sites to growing capacity for the community. Goal 5: Develop a long-term and sustainable business model that allows the farms and growers the opportunity to generate income and make collaborative decisions - We continued our research with Take Root Justice and Business Outreach Center Network. At the moment we are now working with the original people who submitted the Boogie Down Tambrin recipe in helping them to become a business for themselves, and for them to create further products under their own name. We are also working simultaneously to decide what is to become of the Bronx Canasta Program, the program originally was in thought process of becoming a cooperative and that is something all members are still thinking about but also weighing the thought of becoming an umbrella entity or an incubator to help new startup that are members of community gardens to get started in creating their own value added products. Goal 6: Partner with for-profit local food business and nonprofit organizations to package, market and distribute value added products. - We have continued our research and are working on narrowing our decisions based on the feedback now being provided by the original creators of the Boogie Down Tambrin. Goal 7: Increase community income related to urban farm products - Due to COVID-19 we have not got the opportunity yet to finalize the product and begin selling to the community, we are very hopeful in starting this process during the next FY.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Post COVID-19, The Bronx Canasta program enrolled Farm representatives from each of our partnering locations; Morris Campus Educational Farm, New Roots Community Farm, and Brook Park. We began the process to add on new farm locations that include, Morning Glory Community Farm, Kelly Street Community Garden, and La Finca del Sur Community Farm; each of these sites will bring in an additional 6 Farm Representatives into the program. Totaling thus far 12 Farm Represnetatives. With a total of 7 Farm Representatives who participated in the Training of Trainers training, that was administered back in February 2020. Howver, when COVID-19 caused NYC to shutdown we have to put a pause to our training program Due to COVID-19 all our farm sites including the new locations are growing food to allievate food insecurity in the Bronx due to COVID-19 and that is our primary focus. Changes/Problems:Our Executive Director Heidi Hynes passed away in November of 2019, we have been trying to contact USDA to make the neccssary changes to our contract but have not been able to reach anyone. Aleyna Rodriguez the program Director for the Bronx Canasta program has now become the Executive Director for the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center and changes needed to be made to reflect in our budget. However, communication with USDA is lacking most likely due to COVID-19. COVID-19 has affected us getting further in our goals because of having to pause programing until further notice. Our program is planning to resume pasued programming in the third year of our contract now that NYC is in phases of opening. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In year 2 we were only able to provide two sessions out of three for our Training of Trainers course due to COVID-19 effect on NYC. We also had to pause and delay our Entrepurnship course and will be looking in how to continue these courses in year 3 for our exsiting Farms reps to get further experience. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We created a website for Bronx Canasta and update it with our programs and publishing and relevant infromation. Due to COVID-19 we will be posting soon how the programing will be altered in year 3 to accomdate all our partners and our community. This is the website that we created, www.bronxcanasta.nyc What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our focus for the next reporting period is how to adjust our programming to fit the new world in COVID-19. We are looking how to continue our educational courses, begin developing and processing of the value added product, continuing the conversation around becoming a cooperative entity, and brining on new partners offically into the Bronx Canasta Program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase urban farm production through the implementation of agricultural best practices - We have began the sign on process for 3 new farm sites to increase farm production, they will be signed on beginning of year three in our contract year Goal 2: Improve fresh food access for Bronx communities - Due to COVID-19 we had to restucture our program slightly from March - July 31st to encourage all our farms to grow for production in hopes of allievating food insecurity. Providing fresh produce to families in the Bronx. Goal 3: Create value added products which incorporate Bronx grown crops - We have chosen our value added product as the Boogie Down Tambrin due to a community vote at our recipe contest event. However, due to COVD-19 production is on pause at the moment. Goal 4: Expand skills of students, refugees and community gardeners in culinary arts, product development, urban agriculture and entrepreneurshi - During this year we provided the Training of Trainers course and i had to pause the last session and had to delay the entreprnurship course due to COVID-19 and our Farm Representatives not having access to electronic devices and not having a strong understanding of computer software. Goal 5: Develop a long-term and sustainable business model that allows the farms and growers the opportunity to generate income and make collaborative decisions - We have furthered our research and conducted meetings with Take Root Justice to help us have the conversation around developing a copperative entity. We have multiple meetings with the partners of Bronx Canasta and will be finalizing our decsion in year 3 of the grant contract. Goal 6: Partner with for-profit local food business and nonprofit organizations to package, market and distribute value added products. - We have began the research and outreach for which vendors to purchase material from for the value added product. We will further this research in year 3 of the grant contract. Goal 7: Increase community income related to urban farm products - As we develop the value added product and continue the planning around becoming a cooperative this goal will begin to be worked towards.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The Bronx Canasta thus far have gained the participation of the Farm representatives from each of our partnering locations; Morris Campus Educational Farm, New Roots Community Farm, and Brook Park. With a total of 7 Farm Representatives who participated in the Grow More Vegetables training, that was administered back in March 2019. After the completion of The Grow More Vegetables course 6 Farm Representatives went on to assist with farm work / labor at each of their assigned sites to grow produce for vulnerable community members. The produce that is harvested by the Farm Representatives is getting distributed at the local farmers markets, where it is increasing access for those located in vulnerable communities. Brook Park also donates produce to their local food pantry to help increase food access to those in need. Changes/Problems:If funding is not recieved by NIFA/USDA it will place a huge set back on what we will be able to accomplish with next steps towards our chosen value-added product. If funding is also not recieved it will affect our current partnerships and Farm Rrepresentatives enrollement in the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Each partner farm (New Roots Community Farm, Morris Campus Educational Farm, and Brook Park) identified 2 Farm Representatives to attend the Grow More Vegetables Certificate Series of The New York Botanical Garden. Through training received, representatives learned and will be able to implement agricultural best practices related to greenhouse production, propagation, integrated pest management, and harvesting. Attached you can see the pre/post survey that each Farm Representated took at the begininng and end of the course to help determine the amount of knowledge that they gained. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In April we launched our Salad Dressing / Marinade competition where we asked Bronx residents to submit an original recipe that they would like to share with their community and to become the first Bronx Canasta value-added product. We reached out to Bronx residents through news networks, newspapers, and social media forums to get as many residents to submit a recipe. We narrowed it down to 4 Bronx natives who submitted a recipe and had them demonstrate their reciepe ar our first Sald Dressing / Marinade Recipe that we held in July. After determining a winner at our Salad Dressing / Marinade Recipe Announcement Event we are now having the community taste the product and give us their feedback on what they think. Attached you can see the surveys that were conducted in the community after each tasting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goal 1 / Outcome 1: Farm Representatives will be able to apply further what they have learned in the Grow More Vegetables Certificate course to increase their farm production at each site. Bronx Green-Up will continue to provide technical assistance to each site to provide them with techniques and materials needed to increase their yeild. Goal 2 / Outcome 2: The Bronx Canasta team will begin looking into new sites that have the adequate space and volunteer support to particpate in the program for years 3 & 4. Dedciating 100 sq. ft. from each farm site for the production towards vulnerable populations in The Bronx. Goal 3 / Outcome 3: The submitted reciepe "Boogie Down Tambrin" will be tested by the community at various markets and event locations, to get community feedback and support. A sample will then be sent to Cornell Extension to provide us with the shelf life and what next steps are needed to make the product ready for it to be sold. Goal 4 / Outcome 4: During the off season the currently enrolled Farm Representatives will participate in a series of trainings provided from January - April. The trainings include Training of Trainers, Entreprenurship, and culinary arts/product development. Goal 5 / Outcome 5: The lead organizations on the grant will continue to have the conversation around what type of business model The Bronx Canasta should follow. Goal 6 / Outcome 6: New partnships and research will take place with local business who can help us to create and develop our value added product. Goal 7 / Outcome 7: Funding needs to be recieved by NIFA/USDA
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1 / Outcome 1: Morris campus educational farm has received technical assistance throughout this year by Bronx Green-Up, where square footage of growing space has been increased and they now provide their produce to a local farmers market for sale when school is closed for the summer. Because the growing season and harvesting has just kicked into full gear we do not yet have a number of poundage for each of the participating gardens. Goal 2 / Outcome 2: At the end of the growing season will have the number of pounds that were either sold at our local farmers market or donated to vulnerable community members. Goal 3 / Outcome 3: This is the end of our first year and we were able to determine a recipe that will be used to create our value added product. We chose a recipe by conducting a recipe competition that was open to the entire Bronx, we had 6 recipes that were submitted and 4 that were eligible bringing it down to one winner. The value added product will be processed, developed, and begin to be sold during year 2. Goal 4 / Outcome 4: 7 urban farm representatives participated and completed in the Grow More Vegetables certificate series, these farms representatives were from each of our partnering sites and included immigrants, refugees, and students/youth. In year 2 the farm representatives will be taking the culinary, entrepurnship, and training of trainers training. Goal 5 / Outcome 5: We have began to have conversation around the type of business model we would like for the Bronx Canasta Program to pursue, deeper conversation will take place during year 2 of the program. Goal 6 / Outcome 6: This goal will be more pursued during year 2 Goal 7 / Outcome 7: The farm representatives have yet to receive their stipends due to funding not being distributed by NIFA/ASAP.
Publications
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