Greater Newark Conservancy Inc

The conservancy's urban farming/community greening program annually serves about 4,000 newark residents through its family-adopted planting plots, hydroponic greenhouses that generate fresh produce, weekly mobile farm stands, monthly farmer's markets, and distributed food boxes. Through these combined activities the conservancy makes nutritious, healthy foods accessible to newark residents who live in designated food desert neighborhoods. In 2023 urban farming initiatives expanded to include a newark growers community supported agriculture (csa) food box initiative, providing several dozen local families with fresh produce every other week.

In 2023 the conservancy launched the coalition for healthy food in newark schools, a collective impact initiative, established to sustainably transform newark's school food system which serves 41,672 students in its 63 schools. The coalition is focused on increasing local food procurement, farm-to-school access, garden-based education, farm-to-family access, fitness education, and capacity building for school food service staff. The conservancy serves as the backbone agency for this collective impact initiative. Most recently this campaign has implemented community informational programs and the formation and strengthening of a series of student-led nutrition advisory councils in newark schools, encouraging student input on food quality issues within their respective schools, thereby impacting 2,600 students.