Corbin Hill Food Project plans Harlem market, ties upstate Black and Indigenous farmers to city food hub

Yardi Garcia, director of programs and innovation at Corbin Hill Food Project, described the nonprofit's effort to connect underrepresented Black and Indigenous farmers Upstate to city markets and to develop community-centered food programming.

Garcia said the organization began with land Upstate and evolved into a virtual food hub focused on equitable procurement and distribution. "There's only about a 130, 39 in New York, and they face a lot of challenges and barriers in getting their food into community," Garcia said, describing the supply-side obstacles for Black and Indigenous growers (transcript numbers are unclear in places).

She announced plans for a brick-and-mortar market opening this summer at a Harlem site described in the segment as "on 100 and fortieth in Frederick Douglass," where residents will be able to buy fresh produce grown Upstate. Garcia said the storefront will host skillshares, ancestral recipe preservation, cooking demonstrations and a medically tailored-meals program designed with a registered dietitian; some preserved products (jams, pickles, sauces) will reduce food waste and provide year-round options.

Garcia highlighted disparities in neighborhood health and access to fresh food, noting that "The Bronx ranks number 62 out of 62 in health rankings," and described the market space as a "for us, by us" community hub. She encouraged listeners to follow Corbin Hill Food Project on social media (Corbin Hill_food_project) and visit the organization’s website.