Creative responses to food deserts | Tomorrow's headlines tonight

A very patient Andy Richards with NJ Advance Media. So first of all, welcome back. Okay. Thank you so much. And it occurred to me because I know I can go on and on. I wanted to make sure I got in everything that I was reporting on. So I visited the wildflower farm that you saw, which is more rural. But I also talked to Falun Davis, who is at a smaller urban farm in Newark. And I visited a hospital that has a greenhouse on their property and has a farmer's market. And all of these efforts are to help people. Uh, eat healthy foods, um, to prevent disease. Um, one of the, the, the catchphrases I learned was food is medicine. Well, let's remind people, Andy, that we, we got interrupted and they might be tuning in for the first time that you are a reporter and you were, you got a tip that people were opening up their farms and growing things and also using maybe some of the food to help food pantries and people who are food insecure and trying to turn that cycle around. Is that a, Good assessment of what it's it's it's really be beyond that. And that was the cool part of the reporting. So, yes, they have the farms, they they have seeds, they grow produce. Actually, wildflower also raises ducks and they have sheep that, you know, so it's it's more than that, though, that there's a lot of education going on, both Beth Greenhouse and which is in the city. And Wildflower Farms, which is more suburban, rural, have classes where the community can come in and learn how to grow food, prepare food, food that is culturally compatible for them. You know, it's not just like, here's what's good, eat this. It's like, here's how you can incorporate it into your culture. Sure. Um, the, These photos that you're looking at right now are from Beth Greenhouse, RWJBarnabas. Has a hospital in Newark. They used to have a garden. The garden was so popular, Barbara Mintz, who's the executive director, decided that she wanted to do something year-round. So they developed a hydroponic greenhouse nearby the hospital, which feeds into their farmer's market. And beyond that... Yeah, they have free cooking classes for kids. They've entered into the school system. They teach third through fifth grade nutrition. They have actual classes that you can go to. I think that's for any age. And they also have a SNAP Navigator. At these photos that you see, people can go to the farmer's market and use their SNAP benefits to buy healthy food, the honey that you see and all of that wonderful produce. So it's really a holistic... approach to health and a preventative approach to disease. You know, it's all about good health. So and really working, you know, they said they were seeing kids with diabetes at a really young age. So this is trying to turn that around. So beyond the food insecurity, it's trying to build healthy communities. Yeah, love it. So Andy, talk to me. Let's back it up a little. You said You said you moved to New Jersey from California. How did you get a tip that this was going on? Because the family that, from what I read, they thought they wanted to relocate, and then they ended up buying a farm of like 40 acres. What made them want to do this? Yeah, that's so crazy. I mean, what Tamia said to me was she grew up in Detroit, very urban Detroit area, and she wanted to, she had the idea that she wanted to be on a farm. She wanted to homestead. She didn't even want to. Have a farm that produced anything to sell. She just wanted a homestead, which means you have a place and you raise your produce and your animals to sustain yourself and your family. You're not necessarily trying to sell to the public. But... When she was looking for her little eight-acre farm, there was another farm across the street for sale that wasn't on their list of farms to see because that farm, the one that you're looking at, is over 42 acres. And when she and her husband knocked on the door and the couple kindly let them in and they told them what they wanted to do, the family selling the farm said, hey, I want to sell to a family that wants to work the land. And we will help you with financing. So she didn't have to go through a bank, which I understand is really difficult for people who want to buy a farm. The sellers set up financing for them, and it just evolved. It just evolved from there. And so I feel like I understand the mission from what you, when you interview these people, they really want to help their community, help themselves. But there are pockets in New Jersey, and that's what we're talking about here, that have deep, deep food insecurity. Some of them are in the more urban areas, but not all of them. Is there a way, where is this farm located exactly in New Jersey? What part? Thank You said it's not open to the public, but they're trying to spread their program around you so because the hospital is involved as well, right? Yeah, I don't want to conflate the two things. much So Beth Greenhouse is affiliated with the hospital. They have a farmer's market actually for in the lobby of the hospital every Thursday. your They also reach out into the school system in Newark. So that one's Newark-based. time. That's right there in the heart of the city. You can use your SNAP benefits. And that's almost like one piece of the food puzzle. Yeah. Wildflower Farm is in Pennington, which is in the middle of the state in Mercer County. It is open to the public because they also have three acres of land that is dedicated to people who want to come and learn how to farm. They do sell produce to farmers' markets, and they give away food whenever they can. So it's more nuanced. It's, it's, uh. It's education. It's selling food. It's giving away food. They're talking about having yoga classes on the property and maybe being a site for weddings. So there's a lot going on. It's really its own ecosystem. So, Andy, in your years of reporting, what was your takeaway? Because this is a pretty unique way to address. What we both covered as an ongoing problem. What were your takeaways? You know, my takeaway was I was invigorated by it and I was inspired by it because I really think that both farms and the hospital are really approaching this in such a deep way. You know, it's not just like, well, here's the food. It's like, here's how you grow the food. Here's how you prepare. Pair the food, you know, like this is, we want it, we want to keep, we want you to eat and we want you to be healthy and we want you to teach somebody else how to do this. And I guess that was my takeaway that this is, this is going to have longevity. It's, it's not just going to be a, you know, a one-off, like here's some food for today. We're going to help you sustain this. Yeah, very interesting and super important. But another fact about this is the family, the couple that bought the farm, they have ancestors who were slaves. And so I think in part of your story, one of their relatives said, why are you growing cotton? What is going on? Why would you do that? And I bring that up because there's a cultural element to this too. Do you want to talk a little bit more about that? Yeah, and in all my reporting, there's going to be a cultural element because those are the communities that I cover. But yes, and you know, I don't want to mislead the public. She didn't specifically say that someone was enslaved, although given the history of our country, that's probably likely. But her grandmother came to visit and saw that she was growing cotton. And she was like, of all things, like, why would you do this? It's, you know, it's a little triggering. And she says, you know, I am in a place where I can grow cotton and admire it for its beauty. And, you know, that shows how far we've progressed, right? It's not that that arduous, you know, cotton picking, which I understand is very hard to do and very hard on on the hands. Um... You know, she's growing it for beauty. And I think I think her grandmother understood it when she when she explained it like that. And yes, there is, you know, only one percent of the farmers in New Jersey are black. Do you have a nationwide statistic too? You know what? No, I don't off the top of my head, but it's, I know that in, in New Jersey, for example, it is, it's extremely difficult. I mentioned Falun before, who's at steam urban in Newark, and she has a little lot of land in the city and she wants to purchase it. And it's proving to be very difficult. So I'm going to be following her. That's going to be my next story and maybe you'll have me back when it's less chaotic and I can share that, that one with you. I have, I can't let you go before asking you what made this your passion of all the things you could cover? Why do you cover these community issues and how does it make you feel when you do so? Oh, that's a really good question, Sharon. I just find, I find everything interesting. So, you know, it's a great job. I mean, when you're really interested in people and the different things that people get up to, it's a joy. And I have to say, being around those beautiful animals, and Creed honestly followed me around. I was like, at first I thought Creed was going to come get me. And then I realized that Creed was just very social, Creed the rooster. So, um... Yeah, to be in nature, to see people connected, to see people so positive, I mean, and just wanting to give, wanting to educate, wanting to feed, wanting to pass history through seeds, right? She said some, Tamia, who you saw there in the overall, some of the seeds go back generations in her family. So, um... It's a gift, and I get paid. And you get paid. Do you get any feedback from your viewers? I'm sure you get story tips and stuff, but when your stories run, do you get any feedback? I do, and that's really nice. Last week, I really focused on veterans, and I got a really nice note from someone about their dad who served in the Korean War. Uh, which is a while ago. Um, I've gotten when I did, actually, I did a story about black cowboys and that was really popular, uh, cause you know, people don't know the history. So when they, they learn these things, they're like, oh my goodness, I had no idea. And this is great. And I want to go ride a trail with them and, uh, which they do provide. So yeah, I get lots of feedback on all the different stories that I do. Sometimes I do really hard hitting stories. About solitary confinement and things that are not as, you know, pleasant as we'd like them to be. But people thank me for that, too. They're like, this needs a light on it. Thank you for covering this. This is something that more people need to understand. Awesome. So. Yeah. So Andy, keep up the good work. Can you tease and let us know what you're working on ahead of time so we can look at NJ Advanced Media and find yourself? Tell us where they can see you on social. But tell us, give us a hint. What's your next story about? The next story is going to be about Patterson Healing Collective, and they're a group in Patterson, New Jersey, that has a street team. They also have classes, but their main focus is to prevent violence. So they're out on the streets, talking to people, getting them into Drug rehabilitation programs, if that's where they need to be connecting them to housing, connecting them to food again with the food insecurity. Right. So so that's going to be my next story. I'm Andy Richards on everything except for Instagram. It's Angel City Girl. Little call back to Cali. Yeah. And and the website is NJ.com. And once you're on NJ.com, you can you can find Mosaic. But Mosaic is my vertical that, like I said, focuses on our underserved communities. Well, Andy, are you, all these years later, are you grateful you relocated from California to New Jersey? Yeah, I am. You know, and I should say I did grow up in New York, so it wasn't so crazy. But I had been in L.A. so long, I never thought that I would come back. But now that I'm here, I'm I'm just really happy. And, you know, I think people in New Jersey get a bad rap. Everyone's been great, really supportive. So it was a good move. And my mom's with me now. She was on the East Coast. So there you go. No more reason than that. Andy Richards, thank you so much. We so appreciate it. And we look forward to reading your next installment at New Jersey Advance Media or on one of your socials or nj.com, of course. Andy, thank you. nj.com. All right. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.