Green Thumbs Multiply

What does it mean to be food insecure? What is a CSA, and how can families get involved with a farm that offers one? What are the most effective techniques to promote healthy eating? Just how many variables stand between one body and access to fresh fruits and vegetables?

New Haven Farms’ James Jenkins, executive director, and Jacqueline Maisonpierre, farms manager, joined me in the studio to answer these and other questions about local nutrition, neighborhood health initiatives and sustainable farming in the Elm City during an episode of ​“Kitchen Sync.”

With 31 percent of New Haven residents still reporting hunger or housing insecurity — which often go hand in hand, as the cost of housing is often linked to whether one can afford fresh food — Jenkins said that stepping into the position of executive director with the organization felt more than natural. Graduating on the same day that departing director Rebecca Kline was due to have her second child, he took up the mantle immediately, and began to focus on preserving Kline’s legacy while expanding the operation.

“I’d feel comfortable using the word calling,” said Jenkins during the interview. ​“The reason I came to New Haven Farms and I felt so good about it … these are great people, community values, and really making a difference. I feel really privileged to take what was a real passion of mine for the last few years and put it directly into the farm-based wellness program, partnerships with the health care, the city of Haven and other great nonprofit organizations working on these things around food system change.”

“The peace and solitude you get when farming rurally is never found in a city. It’s loud, and you’re constantly talking to people … but that’s the fun of it. It’s an interesting combination,” added Maisonpierre, who joined New Haven Farms in early 2013. True to her word, she has taken on managing nine farms and grew 11,500 pounds of food in just under an acre last year.

Two months after enthusiastically joining the mayor’s ​“Health in Your Hands” campaign with the Green Thumb Community Challenge or #GTCNHV, Jenkins and Maisonpierre spoke about why NHF’s farm-based wellness program provides solutions to New Haven’s push toward a healthier city, and why there’s still so much work to be done.

To listen to the full episode, which also outlines Jenkins’ intention to subsidize CSA shares next year, and a discussion of how to get involved, click on the audio below or find it in iTunes or on any podcast app under ​“WNHH Community Radio.” 

To find out more about New Haven Farms, which just received a $20,000 grant from the Newman’s Own Foundation, visit the organization’s website.