Grants totaling more than $200,000 awarded in first half of 2023

The Partners for Health Foundation Board of Trustees is pleased to announce it approved grants totaling more than $200,000 in the first half of 2023, including: General Operating funds to the Northeast Earth Coalition to enhance their efforts to protect the environment, and promote local sustainability and food security. Their initiatives include the Free Little …Read More…

City Green expands its New Jersey nutrition incentive program with $500,000 USDA NIFA GusNIP grant

On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced a $500,000 award to City Green supporting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) statewide nutrition incentive program, The Garden State Good Food Network. Over three years, the award from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) will support the Garden State Good …Read More…

Welcome to Montclair Community Farm’s New Cohort of Farmpreneurs!

Written and Submitted by Marissa Staffen, Montclair Community Farms This past week we welcomed a group of 9 energetic and ambitious high school students from across Essex County onto the farm! Our farmpreneurs will be busy this season gaining hands-on experience in agriculture, culinary arts, and entrepreneurship as participants in our “Empowering Youth Entrepreneurs From …Read More…

Montclair Community Farms: Engaging the Community through Farming and Food

Written by Beth Pulawski, Director of Montclair Community Farms This year has been challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic and #BlackLivesMatter movement have exposed the deep inequities and inequalities that have existed and persisted in our country and community for too long. They have required that we not only think differently, but do differently, to continue to …Read More…

Milbank Park Community Garden Expands Access to Fresh Produce in Bloomfield

Neighbor to Neighbor Network (NTNN), in collaboration with the Township of Bloomfield and the Bloomfield Garden Committee, established the Community Garden at Milbank Park in 2019 and is enjoying it first full growing season this year. This volunteer-led project is a grassroots effort designed to create gardening space for residents, as well as a community …Read More…

THE VICTORY GARDEN COMES BACK: HOW-TO GUIDE

By JOSE GERMANOriginal Article can be found at the Montclair Local Jose German writes the “Gardening for Life” column for Montclair Local and is the founder of the Northeast Earth Coalition. Shared with permission from Jose German. The Victory Garden movement, nowadays more commonly referred to as urban farming, is very strong in Montclair. In the …Read More…

City Green’s Farm to Preschool Program Establishes Healthy Eating Habits

Early childhood is the ideal time to establish healthy behaviors, including healthy eating habits. According to the Food and Nutrition Service of the US Department of Agriculture, “Farm to Preschool works to connect early child care and education settings to local food producers with the objectives of serving locally-grown, healthy foods to young children, providing …Read More…

Farm Camp paintings inspire holiday greetings!

  In August 2018, Karen DeLuca, a local artist, art instructor and graphic designer, spent two mornings at the Montclair Community Farms “Farm Camp.”  She invited the campers, ages 7-11, to paint images informed by their one-week camp experience.  Fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers that were picked on the farm – along with eggs, honey …Read More…

Montclair Community Farms: Let’s Grow!

Montclair Community Farms (MCF) is a coalition of HOMECorp, Montclair Department of Health and Human Services, Montclair History Center, Montclair State University, and Rutgers Cooperative Extension: Essex County 4-H and Master Gardeners. Community volunteers and Youth farmers tend their two farm sites along with a farm coordinator and farm director. MCF plants, grows, harvests and …Watch Video…

Mobile Farm Stand Readied for Veggie Sales

By Montclair Community Farm Coalition Thanks to Professional Woodworkers Guild of Upper New Jersey, the Montclair Community Farm Coalition now has a mobile farm stand to take local produce from its farm sites to area seniors.  The Coalition operates two primary microfarm sites – one behind the HOMECorp building on Miller Street and one at …read more…

MKA 3rd Grader Advocates for Community Gardens

Want to improve your community?  Enlist the help of third graders inspired by speakers from community organizations including A Lot to Grow community gardens, the United Way of Northern NJ, Bike & Walk Montclair, and PAWS.  Dana Rose, Meghan Schorr and Maurine Toth, third grade teachers at Montclair Kimberley Academy, implemented an innovative Social Studies …read more…

Inspiring Action to Fight Hunger

By Jennifer Hanawald Partners for Health has kicked off a year-long campaign to raise awareness about suburban hunger and inspire action that will help nourish our neighbors who struggle to afford healthy food. The grant-making foundation developed the Fight Hunger the Healthy Way campaign to put an emphasis on donations of healthy foods to emergency …read more…