Cultivating Health. Nourishing Communities.
RWJBarnabas Health’s Harvest: A Farm to Community Center is a multi-faceted, first-of-its-kind initiative designed to tackle the pressing issue of food and nutrition insecurity and improve overall health outcomes for residents living in the Greater Newark area and beyond. Harvest brings together the power of health care, agriculture, education, and economic
development in one strategic centralized location.
Located in Newark’s historic Hahne and Co. Building on Halsey Street, the hub leverages the power of food to build community and promote economic development, ultimately changing lives. Working with agriculture partners throughout New Jersey, Harvest is a distribution center where fresh produce is received, stored, packaged and delivered to local partners and institutions who could benefit from it most. Additionally, Harvest offers services and facilities ranging from comprehensive nutrition and wellness education to a state-of-the-art industrial kitchen available for use by neighboring chefs and business owners.
Harvest integrates food distribution, education, and economic opportunity through a holistic, community-centered approach to meet the needs of residents across several key features:
- 2,100 square feet of cold and dry storage to store, package, and distribute local produce, eggs, meats and more to schools, pantries, and nonprofit partners.
- On-site registered dietitians, SNAP Navigators and Community Health Workers offering services including diabetes management, meal planning, healthcare navigation and more.
- A fully equipped teaching kitchen for cooking demonstrations and nutrition education programs to demonstrate practical cooking skills for healthy eating for all age groups.
- An industrial kitchen incubator for food entrepreneurs and local chefs and caterers to bake fresh breads and prepare whole foods to support and grow their businesses.
Supported through an appropriation by the State of New Jersey, Harvest is a cornerstone of RWJBarnabas Health’s
Our Healthy Communities initiative aimed at improving health access and outcomes by addressing barriers to care.
For more information, visit rwjbh.org/harvest