The Riverview Neighborhood Association is dedicated to promoting a sense of community among their neighbors, and is dedicated to improving the greater Jersey City community as a whole. They manage Ogden’s End Community Garden, which is both beautiful and food-bearing. We asked them the same five questions as the rest of our 2018 mini-grantees, here’s how they responded: 

What does building a culture of health mean to you?
Building a culture of health means you are creating a structure of organizations including public, private, and non-profit organizations that, through teamwork and good communication, in turn identify and grow the policies that will provide a healthier result for those individuals and groups in need of healthier outcomes.

What would you identify as your most significant accomplishment so far towards building a greater culture of health? What have been some of your toughest barriers?
We have engaged some members of the community to help us with our mission for cultivation of healthy organic produce that benefits the community at large that they can harvest without any cost to them. One of our barriers is that we lack the expertise that a “Master Gardener” could provide that may increase our yield to provide more healthy food to everyone.

Tell us about your team. What they do to build a culture of health in Jersey City?
We have a small core of five members that are in the garden on a regular basis. We are constantly trying to think of ways to yield more crops that we could provide to the community. The team donates their efforts and personal funds to the maintenance and improvements to the garden including the beautification of the space with flowers and shrubs that attract wildlife and provide a tranquil oasis in a busy city.

How do you plan on using your Culture of Health Grant?
We have been discussing ways to utilize the grant that will enable us to provide organic produce to the residents of the Alaris Healthcare Center, which is two blocks north of the garden, and to allow residents the opportunity to participate in the process however they can. We may utilize funding to build a greenhouse enabling us to start crops earlier and provide greater yield that we could use to feed more residents adequately.

If you knew of an organization that was thinking of joining the Partnership for a Healthier JC, what would you say to encourage them to join?
The partnership provides the opportunity to expand your mission and network with other organizations that may enable your organization to expand and benefit the community in healthier ways.

For more information about Riverview Neighborhood Association, please click here.