The 2nd Bronx Food & Farm Walking Tour of 2023 around the historic Bedford Park and Norwood neighborhoods took place on Saturday, July 22, in conjunction with the New York Botanical Garden/Bronx Green-Up, Montefiore Einstein, Friends of Mosholu Parkland, The James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center, and B Blossom Catering, a plant-based gourmet food company.

 

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the group set out from The Keeper’s House Edible Garden at 3400 Reservoir Oval East in Norwood, and learned about the histories of growing food, composting, and living in the local area.

 

The 1.3-mile tour took in a visit to the Museum of Bronx History, at the historic Valentine-Varian House on Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood, passed through Mosholu Parkland, and finished at the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center Community Farmers Market (JBOLC) at DeWitt Clinton High School in Norwood.

Participants learned about the histories of each of each of these spaces, as well as how people are transforming them to grow food and community today.

 

Melissa Cebollero from the Office of Community Affairs at Montefiore Einstein said the visit to the Edible Garden in particular was wonderful, and that it had been amazing to see what could be produced in such a small community space. Read our previous story on the Edible Garden here.

 

“Montefiore Einstein’s annual Bronx food and farm tour, now in its 15th season, is a great way to celebrate all that is beautiful, healthy and green in our county,” Cebollero said.

“July’s tour was dedicated to the Norwood and Bedford Park communities and explored the rich history of urban agriculture and sustainability efforts in those neighborhoods,” she added. “We were honored to showcase the luscious “Neighborfood” Garden at the Keeper’s House during this tour.”

 

Cebollero gave a special shout out to the Friends of Mosholu Parkland, the Valentine Varian House (Bronx Historical Society), and the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center for hosting the close to 50 participants who participated in the tour, as well as to B. Blossom Catering for providing a healthy, nutritious and delicious vegetarian lunch.

 

Compost project manager at NYBG, Pamela Alvarez, said participants on the tour came from all across the City. She said, “Elizabeth Quaranta, executive director of Friends of Mosholu Parkland, gave us a detailed tour of their garden and discussed the history of the Keepers House. Their garden is small, but mighty – growing cucumbers, squash, eggplants, tomatoes and other culturally significant food to the community.”

On the stop at Bronx Historical Society, Alvarez said, “Our tour guide, Danise Infante, gave us a wonderful tour of the grounds and discussed the history of the Valentine-Varian House. She also spoke about the variety of programming they offer, which includes food distributions, art exhibits, and more.  There are also future plans to install a garden, a beehive and compost food scraps on-site.”

 

Alvarez said the final stop was a 10-miniute walk to the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center Farmer’s Market (JBOLC) and Meg’s Garden located outside DeWitt Clinton High School. “The tour was led by Ray Pultinas, the founder of JBOLC and retired English teacher at the high school. He spoke about the history of JBOLC, the garden, and the market. After a tour of the garden, we ended the day with a delicious lunch catered by B-Blossom Caterers.”

 

She added, “It was a beautiful day filled with good weather, community, and (most importantly) delicious food. We hope more people join us at the final installation of this year’s Bronx Food & Farm Tour on September 30^th at New Roots Community Farm.”

A few short videos of the tour can be watched here and here.

 

Bronx Historical Society is inviting residents to explore The Allerton Coops in Living Color exhibit and read about the recovered histories of African American and multiracial residents of the Allerton Coops, located at 2700 Bronx Park East, a hub of working-class radicalism and avant-garde Yiddish and African American cultures during the 1930s to 1960s.

 

The exhibit opens on Aug. 12 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Museum of Bronx History, located at 3266 Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood. For more information, visit bronxhistoricalsociety.org or call (718) 881-8900.

Check out www.nybg.org/events for details of future, similar events.

 

Follow Friends of Mosholu Parkland on Facebook here