The South Bronx Shows Off What It Really Means to Get Community Involved in Urban Green Initiatives

In an effort to go green, the South Bronx is waging a tough—but wonderful—battle. An area that faces notorious chronic health problems is increasingly growing its own food, eating healthier and more locally because of it, and involving youth in the change.

The Point community center held the South Bronx Food and Film Expo on a rainy Saturday in early December, and packed the room with activists while promoting involvement in community gardens, urban farming, and healthier eating habits—all in the neighborhood where the asthma rate is among the highest in the country and the diabetes rate the highest in the city. From urban farming to policy activism, said event organizer Adam Liebowitz, "everything that we need to happen in the Bronx was there."