Added Value

2008 Farmer's Market Opening is Saturday, July 5th

Thursday Market
6 Wolcott (Intersection of Wolcott and Dwight)
Hours: 11am - 3pm
Direction:

B61 to Wolcott and walk two blocks up wolcott to the market.
B77 to Dwight and Wolcott.
Look for the Market.

Saturdays
The Red Hook Farm, Columbia and Beard Street
Hours: 9am - 3pm
Direction:

Train F/G Train to Smith and 9th Street stop.
Take the B77 to Van Dyke and Dwight.
Walk one block up Van Dyke to the Farm or Walk up 9th street to Court.
Left on Court Street to Bay.
Right on Bay to Columbia Street.
A/C to Jay Street Borough Hall transfer to the F or Exit the station.
Take the B61 going towards Red Hook.
Take the Bus to Van Brunt and Van Dyke.
Walk 3 blocks up Van Dyke to the Farm.

The Red Hook Farmers' Market
Currently Added Value operates two Farmers' Markets. Between the last weekend in June and the Saturday before Thanksgiving On Wednesday we open up outside the Red Hook Seniors Center at 6 Wolcott Street, while on Saturday the Market is located at Red Hook Community Farm (590 Columbia Street).

Our market features our famous salad greens and other produce grown on Red Hook Community Farm by our youth leadership team as well as products from other regional farmers including fresh milk, yogurt and ice cream, a full selection of fruit and pasture raised meats.

Our Market
Unlike other Farmers' Markets, our farm-stand and the CSA are run by Added Value's youth participants and are supervised by staff and volunteers. By working in the Market, participants are attending to a critical need in the community while honing the transferable skills acquired during training, which they will draw on for the rest of their lives.

Since its inception in June 2001, the RHFM has accomplished the following:

Effectively advocated for the participation of the Red Hook Senior Center in the New York States Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), leveraging more than $20,000 in benefits.
Enabled 1,000 new and expectant, low-income mothers to receive similar vouchers through the local WIC office, resulting in $60,000 of food benefits for the community.
Donated an additional $15,000 worth of vegetables to individuals in need.
Helped found the Friends of Coffey Park and revitalize this community asset.
Provided meaningful work for Red Hook teenagers.
Annually hosted 10 educational workshops for residents and CSA participants.

Why a Farmers' Market in Red Hook?
Twice in the past three years Red Hook's only full-service grocery store closed, forcing residents to walk three miles and cross an eight lane road or take a $10 cab if they want to shop there. If you are have limited resources or are physically unable, as much of our population is, the only options are corner stores and delis which stock few fresh fruits and vegetables, carry meat and dairy products of questionable quality and charge inflated prices. With few healthy choices available, our neighbors eat many meals at fast food restaurants; and the preferred diet among teens is chips, honey buns, and a "fruit drink".

Limited access to healthy safe and affordable food and limited understanding of proper dietary practices has contributed to a neighborhood health crisis. Red Hook residents suffer disproportionately from asthma, hypertension, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Child hospitalization rates for diabetes are over twice that of NYC; for adults, the ratio is roughly three to two.

For years, Red Hook was a textbook example of a broken food system and its effects on a community. Now, we are becoming a model of how residents, businesses, social service agencies and religious institutions can come together with City, State, and Federal government agencies and begin to rebuild a food system that promotes social interaction and economic activity while nurturing our health and improving the environment.

History
The Red Hook Farmers Market was established in June 2001. Opened in historic Coffey Park in the heart of Red Hook, Brooklyn, Today it has grown to become a hub of neighborhood activity serves as the sole provider of fresh produce for neighborhood residents.

In May of 2001, Red Hook's only supermarket closed its doors, leaving a vacuum in the community and a serious need for safe produce. Added Value seized upon this opportunity and decided to create the Red Hook Farmers Market. The market was an immediate success; within two weeks the market served approximately 200 weekly customers, our three farmers were averaging $1000 in weekly sales, and most importantly, the market was embraced by community residents as both a much needed resource, as well a fun place to interact with neighbors and to sit and enjoy the afternoon. The Market consisted of one conventional grower, an organic farmer who also brokered organic dairy products, one orchard, and the Added Value farm stand. The 2001 season concluded on the third Saturday in November and immediate planning began to expand the diversity of the Market and to attract more vendors for the coming year.

In June 2002 the RHFM opened with new energy and offering new products to customers. This past season the Market expanded to provide pasture-raised poultry and lamb, locally caught fish, and local baked goods. In September 2002 the RHFM became one of three New York City Farmers Markets to pilot a cellular device allowing customers to use Visa, Mastercard, Debit, and EBT cards at all participating farm stands. Similar to most New York City Farmers Markets, the 2002 RHFM experienced a drop in weekly attendance; approximately 150 customers, reducing average sales to roughly $700. Added Value attributes this reduction to current economic conditions, rather than to the RHFM's popularity. To promote the RHFM our youth flier the three connecting neighborhoods twice each week, we coordinate special events with community partners, offer various weekly specials and the Market also attracts local media attention.

In April 2003, the Red Hook Farmers Market Advisory Committee met to discuss the relocation of the Market to make it more accessible to the majority of Red Hook residents, as well as for the rest of South Brooklyn. The Markets' new location at the intersection of Clinton Street and Centre Mall, the entrance to the Red Hook Houses East, is directly across the street from the Red Hook Post Office and is three blocks from the F Train. This new home continues to serve as a hub of neighborhood activity and now functions as a Community Supported Agriculture pick-up site. Added Value youth will soon offer community-wide trainings on vermicomposting at the Market, and chefs from throughout New York City will begin conducting cooking demonstrations in September.

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