Local "Rescue Organization" Lends a Helping Hand

The Brooklyn Rescue Mission provides food, clothing and other assistance to create positive lifestyle changes and restore people's lives in Bed-Stuy.  The community organization's programs include a food pantry that feeds about 1,000 families a month.

The mission also provides clothing distribution, youth and teen services, and community development. They also have an urban farm that hosts a farmer's market – the Malcolm X Farmers Market – for greater access to quality food. The Bed-Stuy Farm, once an underutilized vacant lot, was turned into a thriving farm that can yield enough produce to give out for their food pantry and farmers market.

The mission was founded in 2002 by Reverend DeVanie Jackson and Reverend Robert Jackson, also known as the "Obama of Bed Stuy" among his community members. He saw the area go through many stages of change ranging from restoration to its "slow gentrification."

"This society is becoming more and more community mixed and I think people should not be resistant to that," said Jackson. "Bed Stuy would like to have its community looked at as a positive place because they've been working at it for a long time."

This past Thanksgiving, the Mission gave out turkeys and other food staples to families and will give more during the current holiday season. A youth science based project that includes aquaponics is also in the works.

Funding for their programs, however, is always a challenge every year as their services are all free of charge. Of the services that were made available by the Brooklyn Rescue Mission, Jackson said he was most excited about those involving local residents helping others in the community.