Brooklyn Health Center Opens Urban Farm Site to Offer Fresh, Healthy Food to Patients, Staff and Community Residents
Will extend opportunities for nutrition counseling, urban agricultural training and sustainable living education
Jun 14, 2016
NYC Health + Hospitals/East New York, a Gotham Health Center offering preventive and primary care to children and adults in Brooklyn, marked the opening of its urban farm/community garden to patients, staff, and the community. Through a partnership with Project EATS, Active Citizen Project, the garden will extend opportunities for nutrition counseling, urban agricultural training, and sustainable living education for patients and staff. This is the first garden by Project EATS to be located in a health care location. The new garden has multiple raised beds for growing vegetables and herbs, and is maintained by Project EATS staff, volunteers, and local public high school students.
“We are delighted to host an urban farm that will make fresh and affordable food options available to patients, staff, and the community,” said Mari Millet, Deputy Executive, NYC Health + Hospitals/East New York. “The garden will be a tool for our health care providers and will be incorporated into programs for our patients with chronic health conditions, to educate patients about the importance of fresh food and proper nutrition in managing chronic illnesses.”
The partnership with Project EATS demonstrates the health system’s commitment to addressing social inequalities by making affordable, fresh food options available to patients, staff, and the community of East New York. Lack of access to fresh produce negatively impacts overall health and wellness in many underserved communities. This approach provides patients with a medical and holistic approach to good health and proper nutrition, and provides opportunities for onsite farming, urban agricultural training, and sustainable living education.
“The realization of our mission to use what we have to create what we need is embodied in the partnership we have with NYC Health + Hospitals/East New York,” said Linda Goode Bryant, Executive Director and Founder of Project EATS and Active Citizen Project. “The urban garden provides patients with an inter-disciplinary support structure for healthier eating.”
Contact: Press Office, 212-788-3339
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation with a network of 11 hospitals including six regional trauma centers, community-based health centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, and a correctional health services unit. The system includes a home care agency and a health plan, MetroPlusHealth. The health system provides essential services to 1.2 million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across the five boroughs. Its diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees are uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. Visit nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected: https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem/ or Twitter @NYCHealthSystem.
About NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur provides primary and specialty outpatient care through its Diagnostic and Treatment Center (D&TC) and residential care for the elderly and infirmed in its Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur offers enhanced, cutting edge healthcare services in a transformed space. It is the largest freestanding D&TC in New York, providing more than 250,000 visits per year on the Lower East Side. NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur provides a comprehensive array of on-site services, including pediatrics, women’s health, dentistry, primary care, behavioral health, podiatry, optometry, ENT, digital imaging, infections disease, and other specialties and sub-specialties. NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur’s Skilled Nursing Facility provides 24-hour care for individuals in need of short-term or long-term care. Residents receive medical, nursing and rehabilitative care in an atmosphere of dignity and compassion. Therapy services include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and audiology, and vocational rehabilitation. For more information contact 212-238-7897.