By: Pamela Honey
January 28, 2025 – New York, NY – Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ), in partnership with Green Mountain Energy Sun Club®, has launched a new hydroponic farm at the Murry Bergtraum Educational Campus, a groundbreaking step in addressing food insecurity while empowering New York City students with 21st-century STEM skills and food justice advocacy training.
With lead funding provided by a $148,000 sustainability grant from Sun Club®, the 1,500-square-foot farm is projected to grow 9,000 pounds of fresh produce annually, including leafy greens, herbs, and vegetables. Its innovative design uses 90% less water than traditional farming and eliminates harmful pesticides, aligning perfectly with environmental stewardship and urban sustainability goals. Katherine Soll, TFFJ’s CEO and Co-Founder, explained, “By training students to grow thousands of pounds of fresh produce in their own school, we’re giving them the ability to feed their families and their neighbors while building a food-secure future.”
“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.”
Since November 2023, Urban Assembly Maker Academy students have been preparing for the new farm’s launch by experimenting with smaller-scale hydroponic systems, DIY grow kits, and a green wall. Now fully functional, the farm will provide STEM-driven programming and food justice initiatives to more than 300 students annually, equipping them with skills for the growing green-sector economy and empowering them to advocate for equitable food systems in their communities. Fiona C., a student leader, remarked, “This farm is saying that we need a greener New York City that makes better use of its urban space to produce the food we need and maximize the resources we have.”
Produce grown on the farm will be incorporated into the school’s cafeteria meals, shared with students’ families, and distributed to food-insecure community members through a partnership with local non-profit Gotham Park. Gotham Park, founded in 2021, is dedicated to creating and supporting a hyper-urban public park at the Manhattan landing of the Brooklyn Bridge, with a mission to transform previously inaccessible spaces into vibrant community hubs. Principal Amy Piller reflected on the journey, saying, “This hydroponic farm started as an idea in my very first week at Murry Bergtraum. Three years later, it’s a reality. Today, as we celebrate its opening, we’re planting seeds of hope, resilience, and action—helping our students become changemakers in their communities.”
This collaboration will help ensure fresh, nutritious produce reaches those who need it most while strengthening ties between the school and the local community. By transforming unused urban spaces into hubs for sustainable food production and education, TFFJ and its partners are providing immediate access to fresh, nutritious produce and investing in the next generation of environmental leaders. This farm is a testament to what’s possible when innovative solutions meet community-driven action. This partnership builds on Sun Club’s legacy of supporting environmental and social initiatives and is the company’s second grant to TFFJ, following the launch of the DeWitt Clinton farm in 2017.
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About Teens for Food Justice
Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ) operates high-capacity hydroponic farms on eight school campuses across New York City and in Denver, Colorado. TFFJ students use real-world 21st-century science and technology to grow up to 10,000 pounds (per school) of hydroponic produce annually. Through the program, TFFJ’s farmers develop a meaningful solution to food insecurity, transform their relationship with the food they eat, and develop cutting-edge STEM skills needed in a new green-sector economy. TFFJ operates nine farms in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, serving 22 schools and 10,000 students and growing nearly 59,000 pounds of produce annually. Two more farms will be operational by Winter 2025, serving three additional schools and more than 1,000 additional students and bringing TFFJ’s total annual production to more than 75,000 pounds of fresh produce.
For more information, visit www.teensforfoodjustice.org
About Green Mountain Energy Sun Club®
Green Mountain Energy’s mission is to inspire hope and motivate action through the use of clean energy, and to advance sustainable communities through the work of Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. Since its founding in 2002, Sun Club® has donated more than $14 million for 164 projects across Texas and the Northeast. Sun Club collaborates with nonprofit organizations on projects that focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship. To learn more about Green Mountain Energy and Sun Club or to apply for a Sun Club grant, visit greenmountain.com/sunclub.
Read Vertical Farm Daily’s article on our farm launch here!
