Red Hook Initiative
Red Hook Farms is a youth-centered urban agriculture and food justice program operating one of Brooklyn’s largest farms.
The Farms
Columbia Street Farm
Formerly a concrete baseball field, the Columbia Street Farm was founded in 2001 and is now a thriving 2.75 acre produce production, compost site and outdoor classroom that supplies our farms stands and CSA. We harvest over 15,000 pounds of produce each year, welcome hundreds of volunteers and host community events throughout the growing season.
560 Columbia Street
Brooklyn,
NY
11231
Red Hook Houses Farm
One of the first urban farms built on public housing land, the Red Hook Houses Farm (also referred to as Wolcott Farm) is a 1.1 acre operation based at Red Hook Houses West. The Farm was built in 2013 through a collaboration with Green City Force, the Mayor’s Office, and the NYC Housing Authority and harvests over 5,000 pounds of produce each year. Residents of public housing take home produce for free by caring for the farm or by bringing in food scraps for us to compost.
30 Wolcott Street
Brooklyn,
NY
11231
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Why Food Access Matters
Despite the exciting development of Red Hook as a culinary destination, the majority of the neighborhood remains geographically isolated and poorly served by public transportation. The section of Red Hook in which public housing is concentrated is a “food desert” with very few opportunities to purchase affordable fresh produce.
This lack of access to healthy affordable fresh produce has created public health inequities including high rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other health issues that are caused or exacerbated by diets that are low in vegetables and fruit. In the Red Hook Houses, for example, 18% of residents are reportedly suffering from diabetes, as compared to 11% in New York City overall.
Increasing access to fresh, affordable produce and providing nutrition education that introduces vegetables, fruit and healthy, delicious ways to prepare them, are concrete ways we are meeting the basic needs of Red Hook’s public housing residents and combating this public health crisis.
