New Haven Farms Inc

Programs: Wellness programnew haven farms delivered our 18-week farm-based wellness program to 65 medically referred families, or approximately 260 individuals, who live within 200% of the federal poverty level and suffer from at least two risk factors for diabetes or diet-related chronic disease. Participants and their families learned cooking, nutrition, and farming for 2 hours/week on our urban farms. Each week of the program, participants receive a shared meal and a family-sized share of fruits and vegetables, along with culturally relevant recipes and handouts. Participant outcomes include 47. 4% reported change in food insecurity status; 50% of program participants had a decrease in bmi, with average percent decrease of 30% in bmi score; 91% reported changes in eating habits, including trying more vegetables after the program. Outside the growing season, participants gathered in monthly support groups held at john martinez school to continue supporting the community and participants' health goals. 20 families have gone on to grow their own food in the incubator garden program, demonstrating long-term steps for food security and behavior change.

farm operationsnew haven farms land and programs are developed in partnership with a large group of nonprofit, for-profit, and government agencies, some of which include chabaso bakery, city of new haven's livable city initiative, phoenix press, bishop's orchards, yale school of public health, common ground high school, new haven land trust, cityseed, and johnny's seeds. 13,500 pounds of organically grown vegetables were produced on eight farm sites in new haven with the majority of food going to low-income participants in the farm-based wellness program. A 20 share csa program and wholesale to restaurants generates revenue to subsidize the farm-based wellness program.

incubator gardennew haven farms partnered with the new haven land trust to allow farm-based wellness program graduates to grow their own food in neighborhood community gardens after completing the wellness program. Twenty families participated in the inaugural year, and harvard pilgrim health care foundation awarded our organizations three years of funding to expand the program. The new haven farms farm manager or land trust garden manager meets with the garden cohort once a week during the growing season to provide support and teach advanced gardening techniques at the english street community garden in fair haven adjacent to the 613 ferry street farm site built in 2015. The incubator gardeners also inspired the city of new haven's health in your hands efforts to reduce childhood obesity with the green thumb challenge between fair haven and the hill gardeners in 2015.