Bed-Stuy Farm And Pantry Needs $28K In Donations To Stay Open

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — A Bed-Stuy food pantry that provides fresh fruits and vegetables to its low-income neighbors will close unless a crowdfunding campaign can raise $28,000 in less than a month.

The Brooklyn Rescue Mission Urban Harvest Center, which has been growing produce in Bed-Stuy for about a decade, has until the end of February to pay the mortgage on its Decatur Street farm, according to the nonprofit’s GoFundMe campaign.

“We need your help to save the Bed-Stuy Farm from going into foreclosure and the Urban Harvest food pantry from closing,” organizers wrote on GoFundMe.com. “Everyday it is a hard struggle for urban farmers to maintain their land.”

Should the farm go under, more than 48,000 people will lose access to the 468,000 meals and 2,600 pounds of produce that the Urban Harvest food pantry provided seniors and low-income families, according to founder Robert Jackson.

And, according to Jackson, many of the people the farm helps feed have fallen victim to the same problem that now threatens Brooklyn Rescue Mission — the rising costs of Bed-Stuy real estate.

"There's a crisis between housing and developers in Bed-Stuy," said Jackson. "We’re feeding the same people who are trying to eat and keep a roof over their heads."

But the high cost of Bed-Stuy living has not stopped a slew of Brooklynites from donating to save the farm. Jackson's GoFundMe campaign, which asks $18,000 for the farm mortgage in arrears and $10,000 for the pantry's rent, had earned $7,393 by Feb. 8, according to GoFundMe.com.

The donations give founder Robert Jackson hope for the farm and the city, he told Patch.

"New Yorkers, we have a very bad rep," said Jackson. "But we are much kinder than people think."

CBS News first reported on this campaign.