BY JASON COHEN
Many Bronx communities,
including the Moribana
neighborhood, are considered
“food swamps” – inundated
with fast food and limited
healthy options. With that
in mind, one organization is
looking to educate local kids
about the importance of identifying
quality foods to foster
a healthier living.
The Women’s Housing and
Economic Development Corporation
(WHEDco), a South
Bronx community development
nonprofi t organization,
is teaching kids about growing,
cooking and eating fresh
produce through a gardening
program at its summer camp.
Located at PS/MS 218, the program
this year was part of the
city’s new “Summer Rising”
initiative, a free school-based
summer program for any city
child in grades K–8.
The camp uses Urban Horizons’
2,000-square-foot garden
and greenhouse to grow nutritious
produce like squash,
eggplant, red peppers, edamame,
berries and herbs.
On Aug. 17, WHEDco took
a group of middle-school aged
campers on their fi rst-ever
trip to a farmers market – the
Bronx Borough Hall Greenmarket.
They had “health
bucks” provided by the city
to buy locally grown fruit and
vegetables.
“They were blown away
by the farmer’s market and
the options they could get,”
said Program Director Nicole
Jennings. “Initially, I didn’t
think they would be as excited
as they were. I think it
turned out much better than
I expected.”
Jennings told the Bronx
Times that typically the children
go on trips with the
camp a few times a week.
However, since most of them
did not show up to class this
past school year due to the
COVID pandemic, they had to
attend summer school. Therefore,
for about 500 kids, the
camp only ran from 12:30 p.m.
to 5 p.m. Jennings and her
staff had to fi nd alternative
things for them to do instead.
BRONX TIMES R 26 EPORTER, SEPT. 3-9, 2021 BTR
While they had done programs
in the garden in the
past, it was never on a consistent
basis, she said. According
to Jennings, many of the kids
in the camp come from lowincome
communities with little
access or knowledge about
fresh food. So, they decided to
utilize the garden and teach
them about sustainability,
healthy food and gardening.
The kids made foods like kebabs
and pizzas, among other
garden-related activities.
“We’ve been trying hard to
do what we can with the kids
and the garden was an essential
piece with that,” she said.
“The garden was a useful tool
because we could get them
out of the classroom.”
In addition to planting
fruits and veggies, the staff
took the kids to a local grocery
store and a Whole Foods
in Manhattan to educate
them on the disparities of
fresh food between boroughs.
The C-Town in the Bronx
had about 95% processed food
Roughly 500 summer campers visit WHEDco’s Urban Horizons garden on
Aug. 17, 2021. Photo courtesy WHEDco
and half an aisle of fresh food,
while Whole Foods had six
or seven aisles of fresh food.
This really took the students
by surprise, Jennings said.
Jennings added that many of
the children are used to eating
unhealthy items at their
local bodega, so she hopes
they now know there are
other options.
“I really wanted them to
get a perspective to see how
little access there is to fresh
food,” Jennings said.
The feedback from the
youths was positive and some
even said they want to be
farmers when they are older.
While camp will hopefully
run all day next year, regardless
Jennings said the garden
will be incorporated more.
“I want them to go on back
on trips, but we will utilize
the garden more,” she said.
Food-desert kids take fi rst
trip to farmer’s market
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