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October 1, 2013 Community Leadership Course Kicks off Site Visits with Food and Income Security Programs
CLC Site Visit Group to East New York Farms in Brooklyn CCC’s 66th Community Leadership Course began this month! After a lively and robust opening session discussing the well-being of NYC’s Children and CCC’s role in child advocacy, the second meeting of the course (and first policy session) included the first visits in the field to four food and income security programs in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. CLC participants traveled in separate groups to four individual programs, two of which focused on economic development – The Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) and Center for Family Life’s (CFL) Worker Cooperative Development Program. WHEDco has worked for over twenty years to build a more equitable and economically vibrant Bronx. Their Family Support Program provides families with one-on-one benefits advocacy, financial and legal counseling, crisis intervention and mental health counseling and access to an emergency food pantry while also building energy-efficient affordable homes in the South Bronx. The Worker Cooperative is one of the many community programs CFL offers to its Sunset Park residents. In all of their Cooperatives, workers are also owners with a stake in the long-term success of the organization and the community. The two CLC food site visits were to West Side Campaign for Hunger and East New York Farms. WSCAH is one of New York City’s largest emergency food providers as they provide three days’ worth of food to people who find themselves without enough to eat. It is structured like a supermarket permitting customers to select their own food. Additionally, WSCAH provides the people they serve with social service counseling and referrals. East New York Farms, located in Brooklyn, works to address a lack in access to healthy, affordable foods for low income New Yorkers through its farmers’ markets, support for urban agriculture, youth internships and CSA. The farm collaborates with local residents and community-based organizations, regional family farmers and national non-profits and provides assistance to urban gardeners. They are currently supporting two urban farms in the East New York area and the produce is sold at two community driven farmers markets. CCC thanks the four programs that graciously allowed CLC students to visit and the staff who took the time to talk to them about their work. We are looking forward to the eight sessions to come so stay tuned to our blog as we’ll be providing more updates throughout the course! |
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Please keep all comments civil and on-topic. CCC reserves the right to remove any comments deemed inappropriate.Access to fresh fruits and vegetables is critical to a healthy diet and to preventing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. These 4 programs are excellent examples of inventive ways to make it happen for all NYers. Thank you CLC site leaders!