Sharing the Harvest: A New Partnership with DREAM
This fall, Teens for Food Justice is proud to launch a new partnership with DREAM Charter Schools. Together, we are bringing student-grown produce directly to families in the South Bronx. Starting in October, 50 pounds of fresh greens and vegetables from our hydroponic farm at DeWitt Clinton Educational Campus will travel each month to one of DREAM’s campuses. There, volunteers will pack the produce into bags for 120 families. As a result, households will be able to bring home fresh, healthy food with ease.
The impact goes beyond numbers. By combining TFFJ’s school-based farms with DREAM’s community network, we are expanding access to nutritious food. Families will not only receive more food, but also the kind that supports long-term health and wellbeing. In addition, these monthly harvests will supplement the shelf-stable items DREAM already receives from NYC Common Pantry. This way, pantry bags are rounded out with fresh produce that might otherwise be out of reach.
This connection came through Raymie Fernandez, a member of TFFJ’s Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer of DREAM. It shows how board leadership and community ties can extend our reach and deepen our mission. By linking the work of our students with DREAM’s families, we are building bridges that strengthen both food security and community resilience.
At TFFJ, our mission is to build a just food system for all. Every farm, every partnership, and every harvest moves us closer to that goal. Through this collaboration with DREAM, youth-grown food is leaving school walls and arriving at kitchen tables across the South Bronx. Together, we are proving what is possible when students, educators, families, and communities work side by side to reimagine access to healthy food.❦
Pamela Honey is the Communications & Content Coordinator at Teens For Food Justice.
