Community Spotlight: Two Bridges Youth Market 

What They Do:
The Two Bridges Youth Market is a small farmers market located in the Two Bridges neighborhoods, which spans from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Manhattan Bridge where residents from the neighborhood shop for local farm produce on Sundays from 10:30am to 3pm, late May to mid-December. Brought together by the Fulton Stall Market  as well as  organic vegetables from Norwich Meadows Farm and Breezy Hill Orchard, this market is an unusual one, as it is operated by ten teenagers  from Hamilton-Madison House’s LIFT (Local Initiative Fostering Togetherness) program, which supports youth development through leadership opportunities including college prep, composting, music, and community projects like the Two Bridges Youth Market. The main mission of the youth market is to offer local, organic produce to community residents, including those from the 12-building Alfred E. Smith Houses (NYCHA), a low-income, working class, public housing complex with many elders and immigrants, while also supporting farmers.  

How They Do It: 
The market started in 2022 when Bob Lewis, co-founder of  NYC’s Greenmarkets in 1976 and the indoor Fulton Stall Market at the South Street Seaport  in 2016, sought to connect farmers markets with youth development programs. Lewis saw the lack of access to fresh, affordable, local produce in the adjacent Lower East Side community and wanted to make it available to residents in a way that was also profitable for the farmers growing the produce. He approached Hamilton-Madison House, a NYC “settlement house” that had been serving immigrants since the 1890’s, where Ray Ramirez, the Manager of Youth Initiatives and Intergenerational Programs, was in the process of creating the LIFT program to connect youth and elders in the community during the pandemic. Ray saw the impact that COVID-19 was having on the young people as well as on the elders living in the larger apartment complexes served by Hamilton-Madison House, and wanted to bridge the intergenerational gap. The LIFT program, and by extension, the Two Bridges Youth Market, has offered youth the opportunity for community service and leadership development for the past four years. 

Norwich Meadows Farm in Norwich, NY, which grows high quality organic vegetables, and Breezy Hill Orchards in Staatsburg, NY, which grows high quality fruit, have long been committed to providing fresh produce and healthy food access to NYC residents of all backgrounds at farmer’s markets year round. By supplying produce to the youth Norwich Meadows owner Zaid Kurdieh has had a major impact on the Two Bridges community. He provides hands-on training for the LIFT youth at his Greenmarket stand in Union Square as well as market tents and high-quality seasonal produce that meets local residents’ cultural preferences. During a pre-college trip upstate sponsored by LIFT, the young people visited Norwich Meadows for a farm tour to see how and where the amazing variety of vegetables they display and sell in NYC are actually grown. For the high school youth, the market is a source of both mentorship and work stipends from Hamilton-Madison House, which supports and rewards them for their effort, so that they are able to  contribute to supporting the family while saving money for college. The market is also a significant source of income for NY farmers because it provides a direct-to-customer retail outlet without their needing to staff, set-up, and pay market fees at regular markets. 

Under the supervision of Market Manager Andrea Papper-Tenzer, who picks up the produce from the farmers, the youth do the heavy lifting to make the market work. They set up and break down all the tents and tables, stock vegetables, print the signage, and interact with customers. They learn all the logistics of running a farmer’s market, practice their people skills when making sales to customers, and teach newcomers to the program how things are done. The market boosts their confidence and leadership skills, but they also get paid for their hard work and dedication! Like all 125 or so farmer’s markets in NYC, the Two Bridges Youth Market accepts SNAP EBT, NYC Health Bucks, WIC and Senior FMNP Checks, and OTC food benefits  in an effort to make fresh, locally grown produce more affordable for all. This is important for making sure families can afford healthy produce, but also functions as another skill-building opportunity for the young people who receive training from the NYS Department of Health on how to issue Health Bucks for SNAP recipients. 

Core Programs
While the farmer’s market is the main mission of the Two Bridges Youth Market, offering fresh produce to the community, boosting leadership skills for teens, fostering intergenerational relationships, and supporting farmers, the market is also a venue for free cooking demonstrations and nutrition education classes.  The NYC Dept. of Health’s Stellar Markets educators host classes at the market in English, Spanish, and Cantonese on Sundays that provide guidance and ideas for how to cook and incorporate more fresh produce into our diets and offer attendees the opportunity to taste the vegetable or fruit recipe being prepared. As an extra bonus, class participants receive $4 in NYC Health Bucks that can then be spent on produce at the market. This program has become so successful that there is a constant wait-list for folks to participate. 

The Two Bridges Youth Market is a thoughtful and necessary part of the Two Bridges neighborhood that is truly run by and for the community. 

Fact Sheet 
Areas served: Two Bridges Neighborhood sandwiched between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. 
Year started: 2022
Contact info: 
info@hmhonlin.org
info@fultonstallmarket.org