Call it brain food!
A Bergen Beach pol wants to plant a community farm next to an Avenue T school that educators can use to teach youngsters all about balanced diets and the benefits of growing their own food, he said.
“We want to teach kids about healthy eating,” said Councilman Alan Maisel (D–Bergen Beach). “It doesn’t come from the vegetable aisle.”
Maisel wants to plant the growing patch on city-owned land adjacent to the PS 312 building between E. 71st and 72nd streets, and said it could include raised planter beds, a pumpkin patch, an orchard, an outdoor kitchen, and a greenhouse when complete.
The project, which the pol said would cost around $6.5 million, is still in its planning stages, but he will reveal an update on its progress in the coming weeks, he said. And once plans for the farm are confirmed, the city will requests proposals from firms to create it before choosing a winner and kicking off construction — a process Maisel hopes to finish within the next year and a half, he said.
The new green space will primarily serve PS 312 students and others at nearby public schools, but the grounds will available to other neighborhood youngsters — and oldsters — all of whom Maisel hopes will come get their hands dirty when it debuts, he said.
Locals interested in learning more about the proposed farm can attend the Nov. 13 meeting of the Bergen Beach Civic Association, where a rep for the project will discuss it in further detail, according to the association’s president, Sal Calise.
Learn more about the farm during a presentation at a forthcoming meeting of the Bergen Beach Civic Association at the Hudson River Yacht Club [2101 Bergen Ave. at Avenue U in Bergen Beach] on Nov. 13 at 7:30 pm.
