Queens Farm to host inaugural food drive
BY JENNA BAGCAL
In conjunction with the season
of giving, Queens Farm
announced its inaugural food
drive in support of the Queens
College, CUNY Food Pantry.
From Dec. 1 through Dec. 31,
the farm encourages visitors,
neighbors and the public to drop
off packaged, non-perishable
foods to the Farm Store, which
is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5
p.m. All food donations will go
to the Queens College Knights
Table Food Pantry.
The school established the
pantry in fall 2018 in an effort
to support its population of
food-insecure students. According
to Queens College, the food
pantry is open to matriculated
students who are enrolled in
the classes during the academic
year.
“This year we accepted multiple
forms of nutrition assistance
benefits such as SNAP/
EBT benefits, WIC, FMNP
Checks and Health Bucks
Fresh Connect Checks at our
seasonal farm stand and at the
farm’s Jamaica Hospital location
to help New Yorkers have
access to fresh produce. In addition,
we donated nearly 400
pounds of fresh produce this
past summer. Now that the
growing season is over, we see
this food drive as an extension
of our work to help feed New
Yorkers,” said Jennifer Walden
Weprin, executive director of
the Queens County Farm Museum.
Suggestions for food donations
include canned fish and
lean meats, nut butters, soups
and stews, whole grain bread,
cereal and crackers, dried rice,
noodles and pasta, oatmeal,
canned or dried beans, sauces
and gravy, packaged fruit and
vegetables and shelf-stable
milk. Expired food will not be
accepted.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
defined food insecurity
as “having limited access
to adequate food due to a lack
of money or other resources.”
Data from CUNY showed that 42
percent of all first-time CUNY
freshmen are from households
making $20,000 or less. Prior to
entering college, nearly eight
in 10 of those students received
free breakfasts and lunches
Visitors can drop off packaged and non-perishable foods to Queens
Farm’s Farm Store. Courtesy of Queens County Farm Museum
while attending DOE public
schools.
In 2018, Healthy CUNY and
the CUNY Graduate School
of Public Health conducted a
survey which estimated that
52,550 undergraduate students
reported that they “often” or
“sometimes” experienced two
or more of the four USDA indicators
of food insecurity in the
last 12 months. The following
are the four USDA indicators:
• Worry that they would run
out of food before they could afford
to buy more
• Cutting or skipping a
meal because they didn’t have
enough money for food
• Inability to eat balance or
nutritious meals because of
lack of money
• Going hungry due to lack
of access to food
An estimated 35,440 students
reported that they “often” or
“sometimes” went hungry over
the last 12 months, which the
USDA considers the more serious
indicator of food insecurity.
CUNY published these findings
in the “Q and A on Food Insecurity
as a Barrier to Academic
Success at CUNY” in March.
“In New York City, no college
student should have to
choose between staying in
school or having enough to eat.
Together, we can ensure that
all CUNY students have the resources
they need to meet their
nutritional needs while pursuing
their academic goals,”
said Nicholas Freudenberg,
professor at the CUNY School
of Public Health and the lead
researcher on the CUNY Food
Security Survey.
Those interested in donating
to the Queens Farm food
drive can come by the Farm
Store from Monday to Sunday
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the
whole month of December except
Christmas Day. The farm
is open until 2 p.m. on Dec. 24.
Admission is free and the site is
ADA accessible.
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