Grants Approved

• Queens Community House
• BronxWorks

BK ROT Bushwick, Brooklyn www.bkrot.org Ceci Pineda, Executive Director	$25,000
To support the Youth Leadership Program. Youth build compost and climate knowledge and leadership skills to address Bushwick’s environmental justice challenges. They ride their bicycles to pick up waste from businesses, bring it to BK ROT and partner groups, turn it into compost, and then help distribute it to participating gardens and farms in Bushwick some of which are Levitt Foundation grantees.
BronxWorks Bronx, NY www.bronxworks.org Rachel Gill, Program Director – Community Health	$45,000
To fund the Youth Food Justice Corp comprised of young people based at the Betances and McLaughlin Community Centers. They implement Shop Healthy and CHEFS for Change at bodegas; operate two farm stands; practice healthy cooking; learn about the food landscape of the Bronx, food policy and advocacy; and launch counter-marketing campaigns.
The Campaign Against Hunger Brooklyn, NY www.bedstuycampaignagainsthunger.org Melony Samuels, Executive Director	$35,000
To support the Green Team Internship Program.  Teens plant, grow, and harvest plants grown in TCAH gardens; staff the farm stand; learn beekeeping, food safety, and composting; and plan and conduct a Harvest Fest for children and families.

• Harlem Grown
• SCAN-Harbor

Children’s Aid Society New York, NY www.childrensaidsociety.org/gohealthy/food-justice-program Whitney Reuling, Director of Food and Nutrition Programs	$50,000
To help support the Go!Chefs Teen Apprenticeship Program in three locations in East Harlem and the South Bronx. Youth learn how to cook healthy recipes; visit restaurants, food retailers and urban farms; demonstrate their culinary expertise and teamwork in a competition called Restaurant SmackDown; and work in paying food-related summer jobs at Children’s Aid camps, urban farms, and in the food industry.
City Parks Foundation Brownsville and Bushwick in Brooklyn, Morrisania in the Bronx, Jamaica in Queens www.cityparksfoundation.org Heather Lubov, Executive Director	$30,000
To support apprenticeships and internships in four community gardens. Youth learn about horticulture, organic gardening, and sustainable garden design. They teach and engage younger children in the garden, as well as improve planting plans, demonstrate compost maintenance, build hoop houses, and create garden pest control devices.
CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (Grantee: Research Foundation of City University of New York) New York, NY https://youthfoodcountermarketing.org Nicholas Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor of Public Health	$30,000
To support Youth Food Educators and the Youth Food Countermarketing Hub. Teens learn about food industry marketing targeted to low-income, African American and Latino youth and its influence on the eating behaviors of young people. They use social media and art to conduct counter-marketing campaigns targeting unhealthy foods in their neighborhoods. The Countermarketing Hub (see URL above) contains educational tools, teaching materials, and examples of countermarketing art.
CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute (Grantee: CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Foundation) New York, NY Nicholas Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor of Public Health Charita Johnson James, Director of Youth and Community Development	$90,000 in each of three years
To launch a Food Justice Fellowship designed to create a pipeline to careers and higher education for young adults ages 18 to 25 who acquired food justice experience in their high school years. Incoming CUNY students in two 18-month paid fellowships will benefit from academic and experiential learning opportunities and mentoring by peers, faculty, and staff.
Claremont Neighborhood Centers Bronx, NY www.claremontcenter.org Abraham Jones, Executive Director	$40,000
To fund Food Justice For All in Claremont Village in the Morrisania neighborhood of the South Bronx. Youth map local grocery stores and bodegas and work with store owners to improve the selection and quality of fruits, vegetables, and healthy beverages; learn to prepare healthy food; and promote the community Food Box program.
Community Food Advocates New York, NY www.communityfoodadvocatesnyc.org Liz Accles, Executive Director	$30,000
To support Our School Our Food, which empowers Bronx youth to develop leadership and advocacy skills, and tackle food systems inequities in their schools
FamilyCook Community Table New York, NY www.familycookproductions.com Lynn Fredericks, Executive Director	$38,000
To support Teen Battle Chef and CHEFS for Change activities with Levitt grantees. Youth learn how to prepare healthy snacks and meals, conduct cooking demonstrations, participate in cooking competitions, and form partnerships with bodegas to encourage their marketing of healthy foods.
Grow NYC (Grantee: Council on the Environment of NYC) New York, NY www.grownyc.org Marcel Van Ooyen, Executive Director	$29,300
To support six experienced Learn It Grow It Eat It graduates who care for South Bronx school gardens over the summer to keep them vital and ready as learning gardens for returning school children, and design a distribution plan to share the summer harvest with food pantries, soup kitchens, daycare centers, and senior centers.
Harlem Grown Central Harlem, Manhattan www.harlemgrown.org Tony Hillery, Executive Director	$35,000
To support the Youth Leadership Program. Youth work as counselors year-round on Saturdays and during the seven-week summer camp. They plan farming and educational activities for younger children and help lead hands-on activities like planting/growing/harvesting, cooking, compost and nutrition education.
Just Food New York, NY www.justfood.org Qiana Mickie, Executive Director	$25,000
To plan the Youth Food Justice Track component within the Just Food conference which brings together community leaders, policymakers, food justice advocates, educators, entrepreneurs, urban growers, and rural farmers. Youth plan sessions and activities, lead workshops, participate in intergenerational sessions, and assist other youth to navigate the conference.
Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center Bronx, NY www.themarymitchellfyc.org Wanda Salaman, Executive Director	$40,000
To support the Center’s year-round food justice programs and activities for pre-teens including a summer youth farmers market, cooking demonstrations, growing food in community gardens, and distributing food to neighbors.
New Settlement Apartments (Grantee: The Crenulated Company Ltd) Bronx, NY www.settlementhousingfund.org Jack Doyle, Executive Director Taisy Conk, Community Healthly Food Advocate	$35,000
To fund the Bronx Helpers program. Youth participate in year-round hands-on cooking classes and develop positive attitudes about fresh and healthy food. They plan and conduct interactive workshops about good nutrition and food systems as well as a Summer Harvest Cook-Off for their peers and community.
New York Botanical Garden Bronx, NY www.nybg.org Ursula Chance, Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture	$40,000
To support the Training of Trainers program at Morris Campus Farm. Youth learn and practice leadership skills related to organic gardening, healthy eating and community-building. They work in community gardens and urban farms, conduct cooking demonstrations, and present and share their knowledge and experiences with their peers and the community.
Queens Community House Forest Hills, Queens www.queenscommunityhouse.org Ben Thomases, Executive Director	$50,000
To fund the Food Justice Leadership Program at Beacon sites in Jackson Heights and Ozone Park. Youth learn about plants/soil ecosystems, sugar/fats found in processed foods and how to make healthy snacks. They explore food access and food inequity within their own neighborhoods, lead discussions on food policy, economic and cultural factors that impact access to healthy food, and map their neighborhood’s resources like CSA’s, farmers markets, retail stores, and food “deserts.”
Red Hook Initiative Red Hook, Brooklyn https://redhookinitiative.org Saara Nafici, Director of Red Hook Farms	$30,000
To fund paid internships three seasons a year in which youth plant, grow, and harvest organic produce at the Red Hook Farms, operate two farmers markets, conduct cooking demonstrations, serve as ambassadors to visiting groups, and plan and host workshops for members of the Youth Food Justice Network.
Rockaway Waterfront Alliance Far Rockaway, Queens www.rwalliance.org Jeanne DuPont, Executive Director	$35,000
To support the Food Access and Justice Project. Youth grow and harvest vegetables and herbs from their outdoor garden and indoor vertical hydroponic gardens to supply fresh produce year-round for their own lunches, for meals for children in after-school programs, the CSA farm share for neighborhood people, cooking classes and demonstrations, and food events for the community.
SCAN-Harbor East Harlem, Manhattan www.scanny.org Derek V. Schuster, Associate Executive Director Prudence Thomas, Program Director, Healthy Food Program	$40,000
To support youth who live in five NYC Housing Authority developments (Lehman Village, East River Houses, King Towers, Wagner Houses, DeWitt Clinton Houses). Youth engage, educate, and empower other NYCHA residents to eat healthy. They plan and conduct hands-on intergenerational cooking labs and healthy food presentations including “mini pop-up cafe events” in their own neighborhoods as well as at other nonprofit organizations and public parks.
Trees New York (Grantee: New York City Street Tree Consortium) New York, NY www.treesny.org Nelson Villarrubia, Executive Director	$30,000
To fund FruiTrees New York at Levitt Foundation grantee organizatons. Youth learn about urban fruit trees and their value in diversifying good nutrition, plant and care for fruit trees and bushes, and design a plan for community distribution of the harvest.
United Community Centers Brooklyn, NY www.eastnewyorkfarms.org Iyeshima Harris, Project Director	$25,000
To support East NY Farms and the Youth Food Justice Network, a coalition of metro New York youth, who conduct skill-building days at farms and gardens across the City, and advocate for improved food policies.
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice South Bronx, NY www.ympj.org David R. Shuffler, Jr., Executive Director	$50,000
To support the Bronx River Food Way. Youth help community people plant, grow, harvest, and prepare their own healthy foods. They organize special health and food events to encourage people to visit Concrete Plant Park and lead tasting tours along the Food Way.