FORT GREENE — Get farm-fresh greens without spending green by signing up for the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project’s new Farm Fresh Box program.
The 10- to 15-pound boxes of produce cost just $10 and include a number of seasonal, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
Unlike CSA, or "Community Supported Agriculture" programs, the Farm Fresh Box doesn’t require a seasonal commitment, which can run upwards of $450 per season.
“The attractive thing about this is that it’s not a CSA, which requires a season-long commitment, which we found is a barrier to a lot of people who don’t have a huge amount of disposable income to spend on food,” said Meredith Phillips Almeida, executive director of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, at a Community Board 2 meeting.
All local residents can sign up for a box then pick it up at a monthly distribution, which takes place at Fort Greene SNAP, at 324 Myrtle Avenue. Residents can pay on site with cash, credit card or EBT.
The boxes include five to six different items that range from certified organic to conventionally grown.
Last month’s inaugural winter share came with apples, carrots, a head of cabbage, a large sweet potato, turnips and dried beans.
The boxes can feed a family of four for the month, but residents can order more than one box if they have a larger family, according to program organizers.
The produce comes from the Corbin Hill Food Project, which works with farmers from upstate to deliver fresh, locally-grown produce to communities that may not have easy access to it.
"When people think of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, if you’re following the narrative in the media, we often don’t see that there’s a large portion of our community who are food insecure, who don’t have access to affordable fresh produce or fresh food," Phillips Almeida said. "We have on Myrtle Avenue the second poorest census tract in the city across the street from the census tract where the median income is like $130,000. We as an organization are trying to make sure that we’re using our position to elevate our community’s needs and creating programs that address those needs."
The program’s organizers are looking to add a second monthly distribution site by early summer.
The deadline to sign up for this month’s box is March 16. Pickup will be between 4 and 7 p.m. on March 22 at Fort Greene SNAP.
To sign up, contact Shaquana Boykin at Shaquana@myrtleavenue.org or 718-230-1689 ext. 5.
