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| Greater Newark Conservancy'sMonthly Newsletter
AUGUST 2020
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Hello Friend,
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting operations and everyday life, we are humbled by your continued support of our mission and programs. We've worked hard to adapt to these unprecedented circumstances to continue to serve our communities by moving forward with a number of remote and altered programming.
In this issue, we talk about everything we've been up to during the COVID-19 pandemic; our new virtual programs, ongoing volunteer opportunities, and ways we've stayed connected to our community during these unusual times.
We hope you enjoy reading about what we've been up to!
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| COVID-19 Emergency Food Distribution
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Since early April we have been part of the COVID-19 Emergency Food Distribution Effort, a collaboration with other organizations including Table to Table, CareSparc Consulting, and Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District. Each week volunteers from Rutgers Medical School, Jersey Cares, Horizon, and a variety of individuals come to our Prince Street location to pack over 2,000 bags filled with fresh, nutritious, and healthy produce, herbs, meal bags, and meat.
Once packed, the food is then delivered to 11 senior buildings and 8 organizations that serve local families throughout the cities. Organizations include the Newark YMCA, Essex Visiting Nurses Association, Rutgers RU Ready for Work program, and Shani Baraka Women's Resource Center.
Unfortunately, food access and insecurity is still an issue in Newark. Since it is still especially unsafe for the elderly and those who are medically compromised, to leave their home to go grocery shopping, this program is essential.
At this time over 385,000 pounds of food has been packed and distributed. We anticipate that this program will continue through November, and possibly even longer. If you would like to sponsor the COVID-19 Emergency Food Distribution Effort please email Michele or contribute to our GoFundMe. To volunteer to help pack produce bags, please complete the volunteer pre-screening survey to sign up.
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| A (non)Typical Summer at the Conservancy
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Needless to say, but this summer was not a typical summer at the Conservancy. Due to COVID-19 concerns and restrictions, we were unable to hold our Newark Youth Leadership Project and host the 40 high school interns we usually have in the program. However, we were able to hire Ely, Kheyyon, Jasmine, Britney, Pauolo, and Reshona. These college interns have been working alongside staff throughout the summer. They have marketed produce and greeted customers at Farm Stand, they taught lessons in the summer STEAM camp, they planted and harvested produce at the farm, helped at the COVID-19 Emergency Food Distribution, learned about horticulture, and discovered what life at a non-profit is like. We are grateful to all our interns and love the energy they bring to everything they do! Special thanks and shout out to Wakefern Food Corporation for their support of NYLP and our summer interns!
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Like so many other organizations, we've had to move many of our programs to online platforms like Facebook and Zoom. Our staff has worked hard throughout to host these virtual programs.
Our Virtual Camp Green STEAM has been running daily Monday-Friday since early July. Student campers got to virtually explore our gardens, pond, and experience nature all while in their homes. Campers also received a materials box with STEAM supplies so that they could conduct hands-on projects with their families.
STEAM Camp was made possible by the generous funding from the Beer Family Foundation. The Daniel Beer Foundation is a non-profit honoring Daniel Ae Roo Beer, a bright and active young boy who passed away suddenly before his 11th birthday. The Foundation was formed to honor his memory and keep Daniel's smile bright by awarding monies to organizations that benefit children and enhance their lives.
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Family Fun in the Kitchen has been spicing up our Saturday's through Facebook Live. A hands-on interactive series that continues to help families experience farm-to-table cooking, now from the comfort of their own kitchen! By making our ingredients lists and recipes available online families are able to follow along and together learn how to make simple, healthy, and affordable meals.
Ms. Megan has shown us how to make fun recipes like hummus, veggie burgers, and delicious plant-based salads. Have you missed our last Family Fun in the Kitchen? Don't worry! Check out our YouTube channel to catch up and join in on the fun.
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The Lead Safe Early Care Program, generously funded by the Healthcare Foundation of NJ, continues to operate virtually and offer interactive education about preventing lead exposure in pregnant women and children under the age of six. Program components include a parent workshop and a Learn About Lead series for pre-K students video series, family cooking programs on our Facebook live, and professional development workshops for Early Childhood Staff over Zoom. More information about the Lead Safe Early Care Program can be found on our website and on our Facebook page.
To schedule, a virtual pre-K Learn About Lead program, virtual parent workshop, or virtual family cooking program, contact Megan. You can also find lead-fighting "superhero foods" at our brand new farm stand, generously donated to us by Whole Cities Foundation.
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Have you ever wanted to learn about edible gardening? Well, our Know It & Grow It series is here to help! This online series focuses on the mechanics of growing edible plants at home. Even inexperienced home gardeners will be able to plan and grow a productive, organic, and beautiful garden. Each week, you'll learn from expert local gardeners who've been growing and providing produce to the Newark community for years.
The four featured local Newark, NJ growers are Keven Porter--Rabbit Hole Farm, Dena Corbin--Natural Ground 1, Akoth Aambugo--Green Oasis Village, and Charmaine La Fortune--Giving OneTenth Garden. They have covered the basics of starting your garden, choosing soil, organic pesticides, and answered viewer's questions.
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| Get fresh, locally grown produce!
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While some of our programs have gone virtual, our Youth Farm Stand is
still up and running and providing fresh, locally grown produce throughout Newark.
With four locations around the city our farm-fresh produce, grown at our Hawthorne Avenue Farm, is available to the Newark Community where they need it most.
To help accommodate COVID-19 rules we have new health and safety procedures as well as a new online market. We are part of the Urban Agriculture Cooperative, a food hub model where we “harvest to order” to reduce potential food waste. Online ordering will take place each Thursday through Monday. Fresh veggies, fruits, herbs, and even bakery items like bread and chocolate chip cookies are available from a number of local growers, including the Conservancy. Online orders are available at four different locales in Newark and East Orange.
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Our Hawthorne Ave Farm and Outdoor Learning Center are once again open for volunteers! With new COVID-19 safety procedures in place to keep everyone safe, we're able to host up to 10 volunteers per day! Sign up is required in advance.
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| Greater Newark Conservancy Staff
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