On Saturday, December 1st, GCF Service Corps Members of Cohort 17 gathered with local residents at Mariner’s Harbor for a Community Meal to celebrate the end of the farm’s first season. The 40 residents who attended the community event took home swag bags filled with products made from Farms at NYCHA harvests. GCF Corps Members grew and distributed 1,265 lbs. of produce to local residents from the Mariner’s Harbor Houses Farm in 2018.
Left to right: (top row) Erik Ramos; John McLeod; Brandon Cowans; Joe Conte (NYCHA); Donell Moses; Shaqwan Davis; (bottom row) Tenant Association President Ms. Kiko; Lisa Kelly; Erin Johnson; Regina Ginyard (NYCHA)
The following blog post about the Community Meal was contributed by Cohort 17 Member Brandon Cowans:
My experience at the Mariner’s Harbor Community Meal was very gratifying. It felt good to see how the community supports the work that we do at the farm, as well as the work we do in general as part of Green City Force. To receive all that praise and recognition made me feel good about myself. It made me feel like I was actually giving back to people who are in the same shoes as me. What stood out to me most was when me and the Tenant Association president of Mariner’s Harbor rode the bus together and just talked the whole bus ride. I explained about my term in the cohort and the work that I have done up to that point and she talked about how welcoming it is to see young people not being stereotypes and actually doing things that will prove to be beneficial. That bus ride was the highlight of my whole week.
