City Green is a nonprofit organization that has been working to grow healthy cities since nearly 20 years.
It began as a community garden, started by a women’s Bible study group in Paterson, and has blossomed into a large-scale operation that includes 100 school gardens throughout nine counties, 75 community gardens in Passaic County, and six therapeutic gardens. City Green operates out of Paterson and Mt. Olive, and its Clifton Headquarters. City Green works to foster community in all of these places, while also providing access to healthy food and nature.
Jennifer Papa, City Green’s founder and executive director, says the community takes the lead on everything, from the educational programs and workshops available to the types of produce that are grown. From eggplant to okra, cabbage and potatoes, Papa says it’s important to provide ingredients for meals that remind New Jersey’s diverse communities of home.
“They’ve been informing us of what they want to eat, and that’s what we grow,” she says.
The food is distributed to local supermarkets and City Green’s farm stands, which run from June through November, largely operated by…
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