Teens for Food Justice, a youth-led movement to end food insecurity through high-capacity, school-based hydroponic farming, were joined by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers on the launch of the organization’s first hydroponic farm at the Far Rockaway Educational Complex on April 7.
The Far Rockaway Educational Complex farm, located at 821 Beach 25th St., will share space with a school-based culinary program featuring a complete kitchen. This co-location will allow for multiple integrations of the campus’s planned career and technical education tracks in urban agriculture and culinary arts.
The co-located schools in Far Rockaway include Queens High School for Information, Research, and Technology, the Academy of Medical Technology, Knowledge and Power Prep Academy, and Frederick Douglass VI High School. The principal of each school attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with Dr. Mauri De Govia, executive superintendent of Queens South at NYC Department of Education; Narine Bharat, director of NYC DOE; and Tammy Willis of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service New York.
“We are so proud of the work we do and thrilled that the initiative has been so well received that we can’t wait to expand to three more schools in the Far Rockaway Peninsula thanks to the USDA’s support,” said Gabrielle Mosquere, deputy director of TFFJ. “This work will take place over the next three years on the Scholars’ Academy, M.S. 53 Brian Piccolo and P.S. 183 Richard R. Green campuses.”
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