For Judith Want, founder and CEO of the Uptown & Boogie Wholesome Mission, a non-profit group serving underserved communities in Harlem and the Bronx by farmers’ markets, Neighborhood Supported Agriculture applications, youth coaching and training, and sustainability initiatives, she has seen meals insecurity throughout her. However her journey to beginning the group got here from an unlikely place.
In 2021, Want seen that there wasn’t a lot bicycle infrastructure in Manhattan and the Bronx, and cyclists who couldn’t cowl greater than 5 miles, and didn’t have sufficient stamina.
Whereas determining why it was occurring, Want thought of how vital consuming was for her when she was bike touring, and he or she seen that many individuals weren’t consuming correctly.
“They [the bike riders] didn’t know what to eat. I suppose they have been consuming like a pedestrian,” mentioned Want. “They didn’t understand how a lot exertion they’d have whereas biking, after which we led bike rides beginning at farmers’ markets. We primarily have been at Right down to Earth Markets, and we labored with the
well being division and the Division of Well being and Psychological Hygiene to entry well being bucks. The well being bucks have been $2 coupons in the direction of vegetables and fruit.”
Want began seeing a distinction within the ridership after beginning the bike rides at farmers’ markets and distributing well being bucks. She noticed how folks have been using, speaking, and sharing meals. After three rides, Want requested the folks if this was useful, and so they advised her they didn’t have entry to wholesome meals.
“They’ve by no means been to a farmer’s market or the markets that have been of their space on the time that they labored,” Want acknowledged. “And I used to be like, ‘Oh, all I wanted was some vegetables and fruit?’ And I began listening to, you recognize, they weren’t seeing numerous farmers’ markets representing themselves in Manhattan and the Bronx, and I believed that was attention-grabbing.”
Want additionally added that on the identical time, she was caring for her mom, who had Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Her mom lived in Mitchell-Lama backed housing close to JFK Airport. There have been no farmers’ markets close by, simply two supermarkets. The content material that Want learn talked about decreasing stress and consuming meals appropriately, and he or she had to determine the place she may get entry to wholesome meals.
“I might go to Decrease Manhattan to entry meals. It was fairly costly, however I may see the distinction,” mentioned Want.
Want noticed the issues that have been rising. From issue accessing meals for her mom to cyclists asking for extra coupons to get recent meals to eat at residence and on the journey, Want knew there was an issue. She additionally identified that there’s loads of meals in Harlem, but it surely isn’t wholesome. That’s when she realized that meals insecurity was not solely entry to meals, but in addition the timing of the meals.
“So, what time can somebody entry these meals? As a result of, yeah, grocery shops are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., but when nothing is in there that’s nutritious for you, it actually doesn’t matter that it’s handy,” Want mentioned. “After which speaking about well being, particularly with seniors, I began seeing a discount of simply, like, seniors consuming more healthy produce, otherwise you had numerous seniors who may style that the meals didn’t style good.”
As a result of improve in meals insecurity round Want, she knew that the one factor she may do to contribute to the neighborhood was to herald recent meals. She introduced within the Neighborhood Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, which began in 2021 within the Bronx.
The CSA Program is for individuals who wish to obtain recent produce. What makes Want’s CSA Program totally different from the remainder is that she brings in what she feels the members want. For instance, Want defined how she likes Okra, and many of the members had by no means seen, checked out, or identified about Okra.
“And so now, they only ask for Okra each week, and so they’ll inform me tales about what they do with their Okra, and so they’re identical to, fascinated about it,” mentioned Want. “We simply attempt to combine it up with totally different meals, and everybody says that they end their meals by the tip of the week as a result of they take pleasure in it. And this 12 months, we included cooking demos and recipes.”
Want seen how folks began to get entangled, and have conversations about what they’re making and the way the meals tastes, and even seeing palates altering.
Making meals extra ample – and accessible
In a time when inflation is skyrocketing, so is the meals insufficiency price in New York State. As of April 2025, the New York Well being Basis reported that the meals insufficiency price in New York State is 10.4% greater than throughout the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 (10.2%), and meals insufficiency disproportionately impacts Black and Brown New Yorkers, as they’re greater than twice as more likely to expertise meals insufficiency in comparison with white New Yorkers. That’s the reason Want selected to start out Uptown & Boogie, and he or she has her work lower out for her.
For Want, a typical day of operating a farmer’s market is what she describes as a “one-woman present.” She buys the meals, ensures that the farmer she’s working with is about up, continuously seeks out distributors who wish to take part available in the market, and makes use of social media advertising.
“I convey within the fruit, arrange the market, and greet folks,” mentioned Want. “If we’ve interns, I handle the interns for the season.”
The internship program at Uptown & Boogie Wholesome Mission is principally for the spring and summer season. The non-profit had 23 college students as interns this previous summer season. What Want did in another way for this internship was that she gave everybody duties that she often does and broke them down into totally different teams.
“Now we have the STEM group that works with the backyard. The backyard interns labored on sustaining the backyard, the enterprise side of the backyard, like including occasions, doing volunteer days,” Want acknowledged. “We had two interns, one intern targeted on occasions, volunteers, and initiatives within the backyard to assist make the backyard extra environment friendly, and the second intern, who had a tech background, labored on the greenhouse and The Greenhouse Initiative.”
Want defined that they’d three initiatives within the greenhouse that used agricultural know-how. Want did {the electrical} work contained in the greenhouse, and the intern carried out how an automatic irrigation system would look.
She additionally had a advertising group in several segments, with a group that did the farmers’ market advertising. They known as the distributors, created newsletters, and managed the social media. A advertising particular person for the backyard was additionally introduced in, selling occasions that occurred within the backyard and the CSA Program.
There was additionally a tech group. They created a dashboard the place the CSA Program members log in to make funds and get communication updates. A children’ group was additionally included, and the interns managed the Farmers’ Market Youngsters’ Membership.
Lastly, a graphics group labored with the tech group to make sure that the interface was right and what the CSA Program members needed.
“We simply wish to guarantee that the agriculture world is aware of these folks exist, and they need to be invited in,” mentioned Want. “After which the youngsters, you recognize, the youth or folks exterior in search of a profession change, may look into agriculture, however we’d like to have the ability to convey them collectively.”
Want’s proudest however saddest moments about Uptown & Boogie are when she sees her distributors, interns, and youngsters collaborating within the child actions develop and flourish. Nevertheless, it makes Want unhappy, particularly together with her distributors, after they depart. Regardless of this, it provides Want confidence as a result of her “tiny however mighty” market helps the distributors achieve the arrogance to broaden their product into different avenues.
Want acknowledged that folks will help their neighborhood’s well being and meals entry by volunteering, attending neighborhood board conferences, contacting their council members, and voting for individuals who care about their well being and farmers’ markets.
“Quite a lot of politicians use pantries as a photograph op. Like, no, these are individuals who want meals,” Want acknowledged. “We have to make leaders take it significantly that we’re not a photograph op. Meals struggles and meals considerations will not be a photograph op. It’s one thing that you need to handle in your marketing campaign and budgets.”
