The TFFJ Green Mountain Energy Sun Club Farm at the Murry Bergtraum Educational Campus

Farm Details

Location: Lower East Side (LES), Manhattan

Students: 1,300

Annual Production: 9,000 lbs

Year Launched: 2025

Co-located schools: The Urban Assembly Maker Academy; Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers; Manhattan Early College School for Advertising; The Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management.

The TFFJ/Green Mountain Energy Sun Club Farm at the Murry Bergtraum Educational Campus, which officially launched on January 15th, 2025, is now fully operational.
The 1,500-square-foot farm is adjacent to the campus cafeteria and grows a projected 9,000 pounds of produce annually. This fresh produce is served to 1,300 students in the cafeteria and distributed to food-insecure community members through partnerships with local community-based organizations.
Since 2023, Urban Assembly Maker Academy students have been engaged in TFFJ programming in the lab in room 439, using smaller hydroponic towers, DIY grow-kits, and a vine crop system to grow food while also designing a “green wall” to live outside the farm classroom.

Major Funders: Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, New York City Council, Manhattan Borough President, NYC DOE Office of Space Planning, USDA Farm to School Program, New York State Senate

Community Partners: Gotham Park

“This innovative project fills a critical need for sustainable food sources and has the power to greatly improve access to healthy, fresh produce in the city,” said Andrea Ortega-Toledano, Senior Director of Sustainability, Green Mountain Energy. “We couldn’t be prouder to partner with Teens for Food Justice to help cultivate the next generation of leaders committed to clean energy, healthy communities, and a sustainable planet.”

Andrea Ortega-Toledano, Senior Director of Sustainability of Green Mountain Energy