Seasonal Queens Farm Stand (Instagram)
June 9, 2021 By Ryan Songalia
Locally grown artichokes, collard greens and other produce will be on shelves at a soon-to-open farm stand in front of Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.
The farm stand will be open each Thursday from July 1 through Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The produce is being grown at the Queens County Farm Museum, a 47-acre site located in eastern Queens.
The farm grows over 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. New varieties on the 2021 crop plan include beet greens, Merlot Napa cabbage, celery, ginger, mini honeydew melon, mini watermelon pumpkin and spaghetti squash.
Borough President Donovan Richards hopes the farm stand will help address food insecurity issues that were exposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be the first time a farm stand opens in front of borough hall, located at 120-55 Queens Boulevard.
“As we bounce back from the fallout of this pandemic, we must continue to ensure we do all we can to put fruits and vegetables on Queens families’ tables,” said Richards.
Queens Farm harvested 21,600 pounds of produce last year, produced 3,500 dozen eggs and 600 pounds of honey, plus 225 packages of herbal tea and 100 skeins of yarn. The Farm is on track to increase food production by at least 30 percent in 2021.
In addition to cash, credit and credit, the Queens Farm accepts SNAP/EBT, WIC, FMNP checks, and Health Bucks Fresh Connect checks.
The Borough Hall farm stand will be Queens Farm’s third in the borough, with the others located in Floral Park and in front of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s “Axel” building.
The site will also serve as a food scrap drop-off location, with scraps to be returned back to Queens Farm for composting.
The Queens Farm has an on-site seasonal farm stand from spring through fall. Click here for more information.
