Photo Courtesy of Google
Queens Farm also hosts an onsite farmstand in partnership with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in front of the hospital’s “Axel” Building at 134-20 Jamaica Ave.
By Forum Staff
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and the Queens County Farm Museum have partnered to open the first farmstand at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.
Running July 1 through Nov. 4, the weekly farmstand will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Thursday, weather permitting, according to Richards,.
The Borough Hall farmstand will also serve as a food scrap drop-off location. Food scraps collected will be brought back to Queens Farm for composting. Centrally located, the Borough Hall farmstand is accessible from the E/F train, LIRR, three highways — the Grand Central, Jackie Robinson and Van Wyck — and 16 MTA bus stops less than one mile from Borough Hall.
Queens Farm grows more than 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The farm’s 2021 crop plan includes 30 new varieties of produce such as: artichokes, Mardi Gras (blend of bush beans), beet greens, Eastern Magic broccoli, Merlot Napa cabbage, celery, collard greens, cucamelons, ginger, Coastal Star lettuce, mini honeydew, mini watermelon, Carmine Splendor okra (red), Poblano peppers, Sugar Rush Cream hot pepper, red potatoes, Yukon potatoes, pie pumpkin, strawberry spinach, patty pan squash, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, two new sweet potato varieties, two new tomato varieties, one new cherry tomato variety, turmeric, and the herb Zaatar.
Last year, Queens Farm harvested 21,600 pounds, 10,400 units of food and produced 3,500 dozen eggs, 600 pounds of honey, 225 packages of herbal tea and 100 skeins of yarn, all from its own resources. This year, Queens Farm is on track to increase food production by at least 30 percent, Richards noted.
“We saw food insecurity hit record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing a true need for access throughout our borough. Thanks to this effort with the Queens County Farm Museum, we are providing access in front of Queens Borough Hall to locally grown nutritious food,” the borough president added. “As we bounce back from the fallout of this pandemic, we must continue to ensure we do all we can to put fruits and vegetables on Queens families’ tables.”
The farmstand at Borough Hall is Queens Farm’s third farmstand in Queens. Queens Farm hosts an onsite farmstand in Floral Park and a second farmstand in partnership with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in front of the hospital’s “Axel” Building at 134-20 Jamaica Ave. Each of the three farmstands will showcase produce grown on Queens Farm’s 47-acre site in Floral Park, Queens. Queens Farm accepts multiple forms of nutrition assistance programs such as SNAP/EBT benefits, WIC, FMNP Checks, Health Bucks Fresh Connect Checks along with cash, credit and debit cards at each location.
“We saw food insecurity hit record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing a true need for access throughout our borough. Thanks to this effort with the Queens County Farm Museum, we are providing access in front of Queens Borough Hall to locally grown nutritious food,” said Borough President RICHARDS. “As we bounce back from the fallout of this pandemic, we must continue to ensure we do all we can to put fruits and vegetables on Queens families’ tables.”
