Market aims to make up for lack of fresh produce in local stores
Mott Haven resident Aukia Betancourt has relied on farmer’s markets regularly over the years, to buy fresh produce that’s unavailable in local stores and supermarkets.
While shopping at the South Bronx Farmer’s Market for the first time on a Saturday in July, Betancourt spotted the arugula she needed for her arugula and strawberry salad just as the last of the canopies and boxes of unsold produce were being put away.
“We only have processed foods and fast food around here,” Betancourt said. “All those things are good but this is equally important.”
Now Betancourt said she was impressed, and now plans to come regularly, instead of traveling to Manhattan to do her shopping at the farmers market in Union Square.
The South Bronx Farmers Market is in its second season and has partnered with Mott Haven community garden La Finca del Sur to sell the locally grown produce that residents like Betancourt appreciate but have rarely had access to in the neighborhood, said the market’s director Lily Kesselman.
Rosanne Placencia-Knepper, who co-founded the market, said she was excited to see people from the community trying healthy food options for the first time.
“It’s about getting people to realize that it’s not that hard to cook and eat healthy,” Knepper said. “It makes me feel like I’m restoring people’s natural desire for fresh foods.”
The partnership with local community gardens is is also away to support jobs in the neighborhood, she added.
“(Customers) are supporting the local economy and farmers that don’t have the bandwidth to compete with bigger businesses,” said Knepper, who also works for Community Connections for Youth, a nonprofit that connects troubled local youth to urban farming programs.
La Finca del Sur, located on 138th Street and the Grand Concourse, has had a stall since the market’s inception last year, selling whatever is in season. In July, La Finca sold zucchini, collard greens and herbs such as mint and basil. The produce is harvested either the morning of the market or the night before, to ensure freshness, said Wilfredo Gonzalez, who represented the the garden on the July Saturday.
La Finca works with the city’s Green Thumb program, which provides programming and material support to community gardens across the city. Its representatives say they use profits from the farmers market to fund nutritional programming for residents., including teaching children how to grow their own food.
“It’s not about selling produce, it’s about learning,” said Gonzalez.
Mardeah Gbotoe, another first time visitor to the market, said she had heard about it from a local business. After seeing the documentary Food Inc, which warns of the perils of big agribusiness and preaches the gospel of locally grown food, Ghotoe said she began devoting more time and money to preparing healthier food.
“Everybody buys out of convenience. It’s just about educating people,” Gbotoe said. “No matter where you live, health is important.”
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