Brooklyn Rescue Mission (BRM), located in Bed-Stuy is one of the few food justice organizations in Brooklyn committed to community health, food and economic challenges in daily life. In addition to East New York Farms and Added Value, the BRM farm is one of the few community urban food agriculture projects in the city.
In addition to running a food pantry and a farmer’s market, BRM runs a farm in the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant. In 2005, BRM created partnerships with the New York City environmental and food justice organizations to break ground on an abandoned lot behind the Mission in order to grow fruits and vegetables for pantry recipients. The site, once a neighborhood garbage dump, was transformed into an urban oasis that has served several hundred people since its creation. The farm has become a community gathering space and a classroom to teach neighborhood youth about food growing and community service.
Now, due to real estate development pressures, the farm is under threat of eviction. No longer a vacant lot and a dumping ground, it has become desirable to others. It is in danger of being sold by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to developers to repay a debt incurred by Neighborhood Partnership Housing Development/Direct Building Management.
