Cook Soup Joumou with SonyaJoy

Cook Soup Joumou with SonyaJoy

Español abajo

Celebrate delicious local squash in a flavorful soup from Haiti. Learn how to make this simple recipe for Soup Joumou - Haitian Independence soup. Cook along with SonyaJoy as you dice, sauté and season your way to a dish that the whole family will enjoy. This video will describe where kids can safely get involved with cooking. This recipe was adapted from a traditional recipe, changed to make it easier to include children in cooking. For a traditional Soup Joumou, try the mouth-watering recipe from our friends at Soul Fire Farm.

Jump to the end of the video for the complete recipe. Visit our website for more distance learning videos and seasonal recipes.

Companion Video
Learn About Squash of the Americas with PFP

Soul Fire Farm’s Vegetarian Soup Joumou

https://www.soulfirefarm.org/soup-joumou/

Follow us on Social Media
http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...
http://facebook.com/farmproject
http://twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
Squash Harvest of the Month resource page: http://farmproject.org/winter-squash
Resources for Educators on Squash: http://bit.ly/squashresources
More Online Learning with PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...
Donate to support our work: http://farmproject.org/give

Credits:
Close-up Cooking Video by Rob Kissner
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

---

Cocina Sopa Joumou con Lala M.

Cocina Sopa Joumou con Lala M

Celebra la deliciosa calabaza local en una sabrosa sopa de Haití. Aprende a preparar esta sencilla receta de sopa Joumou: sopa de la independencia de Haití. Cocina junto con Lala Montoya, mientras cortas, salteas y sazonas hasta obtener un plato que disfrutará toda la familia. Este video describe dónde les niñes pueden participar de manera segura en la cocina. Salta al final del video para ver la receta completa. Visita nuestre sitio web para ver más vídeos de aprendizaje a distancia y recetas de temporada.

Video complementario Aprenda sobre Calabazas of the Americas con PFP: https://youtu.be/G33spjeDaLs

Síguenes en las redes sociales:

http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...

http://facebook.com/farmproject

http://twitter.com/farmproject

Obtenga nuestre boletín informativo para educadores o boletín informativo mensual: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up

Página de recursos de la cosecha de calabaza del mes: http://farmproject.org/winter-squash

Recursos para educadores sobre la calabaza o calabacines: http://bit.ly/squashresources

Más aprendizaje en línea con PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...

Done para apoyar nuestre trabajo: http://farmproject.org/give

Créditos: Video de cocina de primer plano por Rob Kissner

Edición de postproducción por Forge Media

Música de introducción: "Upbeat Funk Commercial" de Guitars

State Música de Momento contemplativo: "Sweet Gentle Piano" de water_lily

Musica principal: “Kids Background” de PeacockMusic

Learn About Squash of the Americas with PFP

Join Kathryn and the team at Poughkeepsie Farm Project to learn about winter squash, indigenous culture and farming practices! Then learn about a Haitian recipe using winter squash called Soup Joumou.

The word of the day is indigenous! Find out about the indigenous story and wisdom of the three sisters - corn, beans and squash and the practice of seed saving to grow the three sisters crops!

Relax and get centered with a mindful moment of deep breathing, and a nature moment in our seed saving garden. Then learn about indigenous seed keeper Rowen White who is growing ancestral Mohawk seeds with SeedShed in New York's Hudson Valley.

Companion Videos:
Cook Soup Joumou with SonyaJoy - English: https://youtu.be/z-QIYg8HMTE
Cook Soup Joumou with Laura - Spanish: https://youtu.be/wzx6lziND9Y

Learn more about Rowen's seed keeping work: https://youtu.be/IooHPLjXi2g

Follow us on Social Media
http://instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarm...
http://facebook.com/farmproject
http://twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: http://farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
Squash Harvest of the Month resource page: http://farmproject.org/winter-squash
Resources for Educators on Squash: http://bit.ly/squashresources
More Online Learning with PFP: http://farmproject.org/digital-online...
Donate to support our work: http://farmproject.org/give

Credits:
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

West African Jollof Rice with Kale

Prepare West African Jollof Rice with Kale

Español abajo

Celebrate delicious local kale in a mouth-watering rice dish from Ghana, West Africa. This recipe is an adapted version of a traditional dish, changed to include a seasonal vegetable, plant-based protein, and simplified so even small children can help prepare it! Cook along with SonyaJoy as you dice, sauté and season your way to a dish that the whole family will enjoy. This video will describe where kids can safely get involved with cooking. For authentic Nigerian Jollof Rice, try Chef Yewande Komolafe’s traditional recipe featured in the NY Times.

Jump to the end of the video for the complete recipe. Visit our website for more distance learning videos and seasonal recipes.

Companion Video
Learn About Multicultural Kale with PFP: https://youtu.be/xASSV6jc3Fc

Chef Yewande Komolafe’s Nigerian Recipes, NY Times Cooking: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/dining/nigerian-food-yewande-komolafe.html

Follow us on Social Media
instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarmproject/
facebook.com/farmproject
twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
More Online Learning with PFP: farmproject.org/digital-online-learning
Donate to support our work: farmproject.org/give

Kale Harvest of the Month resource page: farmproject.org/kale
Resources for Educators on Kale: https://bit.ly/kaleresources
Tomato Harvest of the Month resource page: farmproject.org/tomatoes-1

Lesson Resource Page: Learn About Multicultural Kale with PFP
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K...


Credits:
Close-up Cooking Video by Rob Kissner
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

---

Prepara Arroz Jollof de África Occidental con Lala M.

¡La cosecha del mes de noviembre en Poughkeepsie es la col rizada! Celebra la deliciosa col rizada local en un delicioso plato de arroz de Ghana, África occidental. Aprende a hacer esta sencilla receta de arroz Jollof con col rizada. Cocina junto con Lala Montoya mientras cortas, salteas y sazonas hasta obtener un plato que disfrutará toda la familia. Este video describirá dónde les niñes pueden participar de manera segura en la cocina. Salta al final del video para ver la receta completa. Visita nuestre sitio web para ver más videos de aprendizaje a distancia y recetas de temporada.

Página de la cosecha de col rizada del mes https://www.farmproject.org/kale

Más aprendizaje en línea con Poughkeepsie Farm Project, la granja de poughkeepsie https://www.farmproject.org/digital-o...

Créditos: Video de cocina de primer plano por Rob Kissner

Edición de postproducción por Forge Media

Música de introducción: "Upbeat Funk Commercial" de GuitarsState

Música de Momento consciente: "Sweet Gentle Piano" de water_lily

Musica principal: “Kids Background” de PeacockMusic

Learn About Multicultural Kale with PFP

Join Kathryn and the team at Poughkeepsie Farm Project to learn about kale, multicultural recipes, and more. Watch kale growing on the farm and get to know an important vegetable that helps kale grow strong - beans!

The word of the day is multicultural! Take a trip to Ghana through storytelling and a classic Ghanaian dish, Jollof Rice.

Relax and get centered with a mindful moment of deep breathing, and a nature moment out in the farm fields. Illustrate and color 3 different kinds of kale: Dinosaur, Red Russian, and Curly Kale.

Companion Videos:
Cook Jollof Rice with Kale - English: https://youtu.be/AUIT2eDMlP0
Cook Jollof Rice with Kale - Spanish (coming soon)

Follow us on Social Media
instagram.com/poughkeepsiefarmproject/
facebook.com/farmproject
twitter.com/farmproject

Get our Educator Newsletter or Monthly Newsletter: farmproject.org/home#list-sign-up
Kale Harvest of the Month resource page: farmproject.org/kale
Resources for Educators on Kale: https://bit.ly/kaleresources
More Online Learning with PFP: farmproject.org/digital-online-learning
Donate to support our work: farmproject.org/give

Anansi and the Pot of Beans (Animated Story for Kids): https://youtu.be/Sau3E2LEfcI

Credits:
Post-Production Editing by Forge Media
Intro Music: “Upbeat Funk Commercial” by GuitarsState
Mindful Moment Music: “Sweet Gentle Piano” by water_lily

Embracing Food and Community in the time of COVID-19

Written by Chris Gavin, Educator and After-School and Summer Program Coordinator

Youth intern and staff members preparing freshly harvested produce for donation

It would be an understatement to say 2020 has been a year like no other for Poughkeepsie Farm Project and how we offer educational opportunities to our community. Our world turned upside down in mid-March with the closure of schools in New York State, and all of our usual educational programs were abruptly halted. Since then, our team has been navigating the new realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and our country’s long-needed reckoning with systemic racism. The sudden upheaval to our work has given us a moment to pause and reflect on what we can do to better embody our mission of creating a just and sustainable food system in Poughkeepsie. Our education team has been digging into this important work with a sense of passion and joy to match the challenges of this unprecedented moment. While the structure and implementation of our programs has changed, the core goals of our work remain strong and in clear focus: making fresh vegetables and the means to prepare them at home accessible to our community AND engaging families in the important act of growing, preparing and eating healthy, nourishing, locally-grown foods.

Distance Learning

Poughkeepsie Food Power @Home, our new distance learning initiative, was born from our desire to stay connected with Poughkeepsie youth while in-person teaching isn’t possible. Our program consists of educational videosalong with cooking and gardening kits so families can complete the activities at home. We are aiming to provide families with a substantial amount of food to meet the growing food insecurity in our community, to give families engaging food-based projects to do at home, and to help families gain the confidence to grow and cook healthy foods. To date, we have provided 13 weeks of videos and activity kits to a total of 185 households. Some of our favorite projects have been growing microgreens at home, a container gardening project to meet the space availability of all participants, meal kits featuring recipes from around the world, and videos in English and Spanish to make our program more accessible to our community. In order to support our families during the start of the new school year, we also distributed over 300 educational supply kits and books to our participants.

PFP@Home participants proudly displaying their homemade kale quesadilla

Food Access

In response to the growing food insecurity in our community, our education team developed a food distribution program to get food into the hands of youth and families in the city of Poughkeepsie. Working in conjunction with the Poughkeepsie City School District’s Food Service Department, we have been distributing free produce from our farm at five free school meal sites every week since mid-March. In addition to providing fresh, healthy, locally-grown produce, we also give families printed recipes and storage tips to help people feel confident in preparing the food. One of the most powerful things about this food distribution model has been building strong connections with individuals and families, and we are proud to provide people with an experience that feels welcoming and positive in the face of the growing challenge of food insecurity. We believe that access to fresh healthy food is a right for everyone in our community, and distributing free produce in a dignified way is one step we are taking towards this goal.

Happy resident at a free produce distribution site

Community Harvest

Community Harvest Days at the farm are rooted in the ancient practice of gleaning, in which farmers would leave a certain amount of crops in the field and welcome community members to take what they needed. This serves the multiple purposes of cutting down on the waste stream in the local food system, gets food directly into the hands of people who need it, and connects people to the land and farming in a powerful community-oriented way. We’ve hosted 5 community events and harvested over 3,000 lbs of food for families to take home and to donate through partner organizations and school meal sites. Community Harvest Days have been a way for PFP to strengthen our commitment to food justice as we work to make our farm a place that feels welcoming to all and a resource for all in the community. In an effort to make these events more inclusive, we’ve incorporated live interpretation for Spanish-speaking participants, an indigenous land acknowledgement to recognize the original inhabitants of this land we farm, and opening the invitation to City of Poughkeepsie residents who participate in our after school programs and distance learning initiatives.

Community members gleaning peppers during a Community Harvest Day

Internship Programs

While nearly all in-person education was halted at the farm, we were able to provide a ten-week paid summer internship for six Poughkeepsie teens. The Green Jobs crew was involved in every aspect of growing, harvesting, and distributing produce in the community - working both in the farm fields and our educational gardens. In addition to this hands-on training, the teens also gained knowledge about food access in their own community as they acted as youth ambassadors during community harvest events and free produce distributions. This program also highlighted the links between food justice and racial justice as youth explored the historical roots of racial injustices embedded in our nation’s food system. The final project for the internship was creating an Anti-Racist Timeline and inviting all in the PFP community to consider how they are and can work towards being anti-racist advocates in their daily lives.

Braiding popcorn from the seed saving garden

We were also able to engage college students in new ways through both in person and remote internships. Our remote interns, a Vassar Community Fellow and a Shepherd Consortium intern, completed online projects to strengthen PFP’s virtual educational resources. Our new Food Share Story Map uses ArcGIS to explore how our Food Share Program is addressing food insecurity and growing community through sharing our harvest. Both also contributed to our Harvest of the Month Resource Hub which brings recipes, lessons, and engaging activities online for families and educators to learn remotely. Our on-site interns from the Culinary Institute of America and University of Vermont made valuable contributions to PFP through their work on recipe development, seed saving, weekly food distribution, and working in the gardens and farm fields to harvest vegetables and medicinal herbs.

Recipe testing

The Work to Come:

As this incredibly trying year comes to a close, we reflect as an organization on how we have met and continue to meet the challenges of 2020 - but there is much work still to be done. As an educator here at PFP, I can attest to the fierce joy and love that my team members bring to this work as we dig into our mission of building a just food system for all in our community. While the pandemic has highlighted so many challenges and injustices in our world, it has also brought people together in strength and solidarity. As a community, we must work together to ensure that everyone — regardless of their address, age, gender, or race — has access to fresh, healthy, affordable food. Let’s join together as a whole PFP community as we support each other on this journey towards accountability and equity - and of course delicious nourishing food. In closing, here are some personal statements from our education team on how we would like to strengthen our food justice efforts in the upcoming year.

"My hope is that this is a year of making good on our mission at PFP." - SonyaJoy

“Bringing people from the community into the Poughkeepsie Farm Project space is definitely something I want to do more of. Because it's just down the street from the community and it’s just not something people recognize as theirs, but it really is.” - Larissa

“Getting to be a part of neighbors coming together to share their love for growing and cooking delicious veggies! Continuing to listen and learn and bring ancestral wisdom and delicious recipes from Poughkeepsie families into our school and farm programs.” - Kathryn

“I want to continually expand what food justice looks like at PFP. And I want to help make PFP a safe and brave space where we can have needed conversations about racial justice in Poughkeepsie.”- Chris

“In 2021, I dream of creating a path to year-round jobs for youth in Poughkeepsie, and empowering our youth to see the connections between food justice, climate justice, and racial justice! All while planting seeds of language justice in our community so those who don’t speak the dominant language can begin to see the beauty in our bounty.” - Laura

“I am looking forward to strengthening our work at the intersections of food justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and language justice while taking leadership from our beautiful Poughkeepsie community.” -Jamie

New Garden Brings Produce Closer to Home

Written by SonyaJoy Key, Community Engagement Manager

What could happen if the soil beneath our feet were healthy? What if all youth could safely plunge their eager fingers into the soil to plant a seed, find a worm, or harvest a head of lettuce?

Sabrina Floyd, Rip Van Winkle Apartments Social Worker and Lead Garden Instigator.

Environmental injustice impacts most Poughkeepsie growers who labor toward food sovereignty, our ability to exercise the right to healthy foods that are culturally relevant. Years of improperly disposed of waste and degraded building materials can leave city soils too toxic to grow food. Yet we need fresh food everywhere we can get it, especially to thrive during COVID-19.

Just 4 months ago, residents of Rip Van Winkle Apartments, known as RIP, would exit the building to see a grassy expanse of lawn. Now a raised bed community garden greets residents with a cheerful expanse of tomatoes, kale, cucumbers, sunflowers and so much more! A project like this takes a lot of hands to turn the wheel, and a hub for the spokes to turn from. Sabrina Floyd, social worker at RIP, is that central hub.

Sabrina is the kind of person you talk to for an hour when you intended to just say a quick hello. On top of her regular work connecting the community of residents at Rip Van Winkle Apartments to local services and providing informal counseling on subjects from health to education, Sabrina decided to tackle the vision and installation of a community garden on site. She already had a hunch based on how many residents picked up fresh produce from the weekly PFP Food Share and Food Power @ Home meal kit distributions, that a garden would be well received.

In May, Sabrina surveyed the entire building to see who would get involved if a garden could be established with resident support. I drafted a garden plan that included a welcoming, multi-generational garden space with built-in benches for seniors or those with less mobility to sit while gardening.

Jacob and Rakim, summer interns at PFP, unload hundreds of pounds of rich soil into the beds.

In July, an 18 bed garden was installed by contractor Michael Conti. Poughkeepsie Farm Project staff and interns hauled compost, painted beds, and installed over 300 plants donated by PFP. Dozens of RIP youth residents stopped by to support, as well as Perfect 10, a girl’s empowerment organization based in Hudson, NY. The garden went from start to finish in a little over 2 weeks!

PFP intern, Tania, transplants gold and red beet seedlings.

On September 30th, gardeners of all ages gathered for the first Harvest Day. Expert support was available from PFP Educator Lala Montoya and Greenhouse Manager André Luis de Oliveira Domingues. Families and friends harvested healthy heads of buttery lettuce, bunches of dino kale and the last tomatoes of the season. Some of the kids goofed around, seeing who could bite into a spicy pepper and keep their cool. Discovering how sunflower seeds grow was probably the most fun exploration that afternoon, only topped by the last garden hose water fight of the summer!

Lala, PFP Educator, gives some cucumber growing tips to a young RIP resident.

Summer beds flourishing!

Because of partnerships like these with Rip Van Winkle Apartments and visionaries like Sabrina, growing above the ground in healthy soil means that block by block, fresh produce is growing closer to home.

2021 CSA Season

Dear Community,

As I shared in our recent newsletter, COVID-19 has impacted us all in many ways. As part of our mission of cultivating a just and sustainable food system in the Mid-Hudson Valley, we want to ensure that families do not go hungry, we increase access to the naturally grown food on this land, and we make sure that our team members have the support they need to sustain our CSA, wholesale, gardens, education and food share programs.

With these needs in mind, we are making some changes to our CSA structure for 2021. Due to COVID-19 and our inability to have safe, large-scale volunteer participation in farm work, we are temporarily suspending workshare, and all shares will be sold at a higher non-working rate. Instead of the workshare option, CSA membership will now be on a sliding scale fee. This will enable those who need a lower-rate option to pay for it without working in exchange. As we’ve seen needs increase in our community, we will do our best to continue to provide discounts to increase access to the food we grow. To learn more about our CSA visit the PFP Farm Store where Early Bird shares will be available on October 20. 

We know that the workshare option is one that people not only need, but enjoy, and are hoping to bring it back when it is physically safe to do so.  That said, it is still possible to volunteer and deepen your roots with the land at PFP. Volunteer opportunities are available and flexible to your schedule and are a great way to connect with the land and food, meet our farmers, learn how to grow, work with your hands, and become part of our local food system. Learn more about and sign up for volunteer opportunities here.

Though anyone is eligible to purchase a share, discounted shares are primarily for our economically disempowered neighbors. These discounted shares are offered to families earning under $25,000 per year, those on Medicaid, SNAP, Social Security, those who live in public housing, or those with extenuating circumstances. Please note, we have a number of limited discounted shares available to make this as accessible as possible during this time. Keep in mind that you may be taking this opportunity from someone else by selecting a discounted share as a person of privilege. We ask you to practice mindfulness as you choose your share, as this supports our efforts to ensure an equitable and accessible experience for all.

We’ve seen a huge increase in demand for our CSA offerings, food share, and education programs. At this time, we have an ever-growing waiting list of community members interested in our CSA, and we’re encouraging all to sign up during the Early Bird season if you’re interested in joining. CSA offerings go live Tuesday, October 20, 2020. Use the following link on or after Tuesday, October 20th >> PFP Farm Store

Being a CSA member at PFP is not just about the Certified Naturally Grown, fresh, healthy food grown here in the City of Poughkeepsie; it is about being part of a community. Ours is a partnership between community members, neighbors, members, and farmers – we believe everyone has a right to farm-fresh food. 

Thank you for your continued support and consideration to these temporary and needed changes. Our community is not complete without you. 

In appreciation and solidarity,

Madeline Henriquez

PFP Project Focuses on Environmental Justice Issues in Poughkeepsie

By Sonya Joy Key, Garden Educator

Chef Key leads a cooking workshop at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory.

“So creative, I never thought of putting apples and sweet potatoes in the same dish!” An inspired smile spreads across the face of the woman taste testing. I can feel the excitement too, it bubbles up as I stir a pot full of finely chopped roots and fruit, seasoned with cinnamon and sea salt. There is definitely a warm, loving family energy happening on the black top of the basketball court at Malcolm X Park today. Children are dancing to the DJ’s kid-friendly hip hop, and adults from Scenic Hudson and a local mosque are leading a group on a exploration at the banks of the Fallkill Creek that flows alongside a shaded, grassy hill. MASS Design Group is also present, collecting community input about plans for accessible creekside parks.

That was the scene from last fall’s “Fall in the Park” where I offered a community cooking demonstration that was funded through NYS Department of Environmental Conservations’ Office of Environmental Justice Community Impact Grant. At the heart of environmental justice is the difficult work of ensuring that all voices are included in the making of policies for a healthier environment, particularly those from the most vulnerable communities, low income and people of color, who are disproportionately burdened with the impacts of industrial pollution and contamination. Our goals for the Community Impact Grant are to encourage city residents’ connection to nature, support existing community gardens and school gardens in ecological growing practices and cooking of local produce, as well as to increase the organic matter found in Poughkeepsie’s gardens.

The pursuit of meeting these goals has been such an incredible learning and relationship-building process. We began with Advanced Composting Workshops offered in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County and Nubian Directions II, Inc. Local youth, PFP education staff and interns, as well as a handful of community gardeners took part. We came together before the 2018 growing season to learn the science of soil, and to do real-time soil testing. The workshops were several hours in length, and very intensive. We found that it was not the right fit for the young people taking part. Another moment of learning occurred when I tried to lead a cooking class at the Community Family Development Center on Mill St for families of the children who go there for childcare, and no one showed up. Several CFD staff members, the custodian and I chatted while gnawing on some carrots. Had they encountered this issue before, I asked. Yes was the resounding answer, and as we talked much of our conversation reminded me of the similar struggles I have listened to Poughkeepsie public school teachers name about parent engagement. It was clear: in order to do a better job of connecting city residents to the opportunities that the Community Impact Grant was supporting us to offer, we needed to be much more flexible and responsive. So I, along with Jamie Levato, the Educator Direction, began to brainstorm. How could we reach people with already limited time and energy resources where they already are rather than asking them to stretch to make additional commitments?

Farm-fresh ingredients

Chef Key offers tastes of healthy dishes prepared with produce available at the Free Farm Stand.

Chef Key leads teens in preparing some zucchini fritters.

So we shifted focus off hours of content and focused on getting connected to folks where they are living, playing, or already have to go to get basic needs met. Cooking classes at Interfaith Towers senior housing were an absolute hit! Following the popular “Week in Meals” workshop which focused on making fresh foods last and making a delicious Thai Noodle Bowl, I returned in November for “Healthy Holidays” where 26 seniors enjoyed company and conversation while chopping and braising brussel sprouts, parsnip, and carrots to serve with Maple Soy Glazed Turkey Breast. We also started to do cooking demonstrations at events at local parks, housing projects, and schools. This partnership model of community engagement has led to successes like the Malcolm X Park day I described earlier, as well as our attendance at the Boys and Girls Club of Poughkeepsie Day for Kids, a playful outdoor event focusing on health and wellness which reached over 60 children living in the adjacent public housing on Smith Street. At the Morse School’s Thanksgiving celebration, where the entire community of teachers, firefighters, police officers and community leaders come together to feed hundreds of students and their families, I was invited into the school’s cafeteria to prepare fresh Kale and Apple Salad to pass from table to table.

Finally, an ongoing relationship has also evolved with the Dutchess Outreach Free Farm Stand. This free distribution of fresh produce takes place the 3rd Friday of every month. I began tabling each event during the early summer last year and have become a regular fixture at almost every distribution since. Nyhisha Gibbs, Dutchess Outreach Volunteer Administrator always manages to welcome me with a quick hug before she returns to directing the group of about 20 or more volunteers who help create the no-cost pop-up market. Long lines of more than a hundred people form well before the 2:30pm start time. Parents with strollers, seniors with rolling metal carts, and young siblings giggling together all wind their way along the parking lot at North Hamilton and Mill St, adjacent to the Family Partnership Center or, in cool weather months, stretch down the block from the Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn. There’s different produce each Free Farm Stand, so each session I create a new, creative dish to offer based on the available veggies. Greek Cucumber and Tomato Salad; Stir Fry of Snow Peas, Broccoli and Carrots; and Spinach Pasta Primavera were some of the dishes sampled by people while they waited in line for food. The Free Farm Stand radically transforms the experience of visiting a food pantry into a bustling, warm neighborhood gathering, and PFP fits right in. What a joy to fill the air with the smell of sauteing onions and chat about experimenting with familiar foods in new ways!

Teen interns get their peers excited about kale salad at Dutchess Outreach's Mobile Fresh Market.

Bintou Hinds, Jamie Levato, and Ozie Williams distribute produce at Dutchess Outreach's Free Farm Stand. Photo credit: Sean Hemmerle

PFP interns, Alyssa, Kitana, Zoe and Olivia offer tastes of fresh curdito at the Poughkeepsie Healthy Black and Latinx Coalition's Hispanic Heritage Festival.

With the weather warming up, I’m packing up more PFP produce for spring cooking workshops being held at Adriance Library, Family Services, Early Learning Center and Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory. Along with the team of educators staffing our afterschool programs in all 4 elementary schools, plus the middle and high schools, the DEC EJ grant will allow us to make permanent material updates to school gardens, improving their capacity as educational spaces. While environmental justice issues are a part of the many challenges Poughkeepsie residents face along with economic injustice and complex systemic social problems, these experiences have taught me that it can be a powerful and fun experience to cooperatively create a healthier, more just Poughkeepsie.

Chef Key and Chef Dave lead cooking workshops for teens at Poughkeepsie High School.