Urban farming in Brooklyn creates thousands of meals for those in need
September 12, 2025
PIX11 News
Cory McGinnis
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) — A Brooklyn celebration is putting the spotlight on farming, food, and healing as neighbors come together to fight hunger in their own community.
Residents, urban farmers, and leaders gathered Friday for the 15th Annual Harvest Celebration hosted by Services for the UnderServed (S:US) in East New York, highlighting local solutions to food insecurity.
Urban farmer Christina Buie stood proudly at the event, reflecting on her journey. “I couldn’t find myself until I walked into S:US. It was a safe space for me. It gave me purpose to get up in the morning and come out into the community,” she said.
This year, S:US’ Urban Farms program cultivated more than 12,000 pounds of produce and honey across 98 sites citywide—translating to about 8,500 meals. The program engages more than 700 participants, most of them residents in supportive and affordable housing, with opportunities for therapeutic gardening, nutrition workshops, and community-building.
“These are the fruits that we plant. We grow what we eat and be healthy,” Buie explained. “Sometimes we buy fruits outside and they have chemicals, but these are the natural ones that make us healthy when we eat what we grow in the community.”
The celebration took place at the Alafia Apartments, a new affordable housing development that will eventually include 2,400 homes. The day featured shared meals, wellness activities, and a food drive to support local families.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso praised the effort. “East New York took the time to think about every part of a person’s life and how they can enhance it, how we can do better for the people of East New York,” he said.
Mike Hollis, Vice President for Community Food Security at S:US, says the impact of the farms continues to expand. “Food insecurity, unfortunately, is a rising issue, not just nationwide, but certainly within New York City,” Hollis noted. “It’s not just about what we’re cultivating, but the relationships and social cohesion we’re building.”
For Buie, being part of the farms changed her life. “Because this is nature, and I plant it and I see it grow and I get to eat it—it makes me feel so happy and so proud of myself knowing that I did that.”
Click here for more information or if you would like to volunteer.
