Helping families defeat hunger and poverty

Brooklyn Rescue Mission Urban Harvest Center (BRMUHC) grows and distributes through it's food pantry nutritious food to families and individuals needing food assistance. (BRMUHC) is a faith-based food justice nonprofit promoting a healthy lifestyle for both body and soul in the Central Brooklyn communities.

Pantry volunteers serve the community at our pantry store.

Who we are:

Co-founders Robert and Devanie Jackson have spent over 40 years in public service and outreach work among New York City's neediest residents and shared a vision of creating a place that would do much more than rescue people from hunger. We set out to create a place of healing and pride. Our dream was to create a secure food system in a community with limited access to fresh and healthy food, to transform a decrepit urban landscape into a thriving urban farm, and to inspire residents to take control of their nutrition.

Fresh food grown at the Bed-Stuy farm for the Pantry

What the funds are for:

Brooklyn Rescue Mission provides Food assistance to over 800 families a month. However, the recent budget cuts have limited federal aid to community members, so Brooklyn Rescue Mission has many food guests at its doors.

Hungry families who shop (for free) at Urban Harvest food pantry rely on the fresh, hyper-local food we grow on the Bed-Stuy farm both conventionally and in our greenhouses during the growing season. Our organization and the building management company are feeling pressure to close our farm, as well as pressure to evict our food pantry for a commercial business that can pay higher rental fees. 

This is a monthly struggle for our organization, even though we feed many needy families in the Community. (This $46,000 request for support will pay for one year of pantry rent and utilities).

With a donation from caring friends like you, we can maintain our urban growing and food pantry spaces.

Our community impact:

Urban Harvest food pantry provided fresh food to the hundreds of thousands of needy seniors and families with children at risk of hunger.

The food programs served over 3,00,000 meals.

The Bed-Stuy Farm produced over 2600 lbs of food for the Community for the USDA farm.

The Urban Harvest food pantry distributes over 28,000 lbs of produce, meats, shelf-stable foods, cans, and dry goods monthly to hungry families and individuals.

Bed-Stuy Farm has mentored over 860 neighborhood youth and young adults.

Our story:

Over 3 million meals have been served.

Taking up residence in an old brownstone on a residential block near a major thoroughfare, BRMUHC was conceived of as a part of and a resource to its neighborhood. BRMUHC first began operating an emergency food pantry program for the elderly, disabled, and low-income residents of their neighborhood.

"We have distributed fresh, organic produce through our food pantry at no cost to the pantry guests." -- The Jackson's

Long before they planted the first seed in the Bed-Stuy Farm, Robert and DeVanie revolutionized the concept of emergency food. They believed that people with limited options deserve healthy choices and that all people deserve fresh food, even if they cannot afford it.

In the last 20 years, the Bed-Stuy farm staff and volunteers have served the community fresh food from the growing space and its managed Food pantry. Robert and DeVanie are neighbors and missionaries to the people of their Community but have become community leaders to seniors and youth alike. The ambition and success of BRMUHC's efforts has been recognized with many awards.

Your gift will help us continue our hunger relief work in 2025.

This is where you can help:

To all of our Bed-Stuy farmers, friends, families, dedicated followers …and those who just learned about us by reading this post, I ask you to help us save the Bed-Stuy farm and Urban Harvest food pantry.

Your gift will help us continue to feed hungry families and grow more food.

Brooklyn Rescue volunteers help prepare for the shopping day.

Please consider sharing this campaign with your friends and family on Facebook, email, Twitter, and text. Each share makes a real difference! 

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

Everyone needs fresh, healthy food to live. Bedstuy has been growing food for community members for 24 years.