Our History
Connect-Garden-Grow
The vision for Brain Food Garden Project began with the view that founder Sean Brennan had out of his window during a prolonged psychiatric hospitalization in 2012. Looking down on the roof of the lower part of the building, Sean imagined a garden which, over the course of the summer and fall, he planted, nourished, and harvested (A Brook Farm Group rendering of Sean's garden vision at Metropolitan Community Hospital pictured). After he was discharged and began his recovery journey, he kept thinking about that beautiful imaginary garden and wondering how he could build real growing spaces that would help people with mental health challenges to connect, garden and grow in community with one another. Sean knew that he would never go back to his career in the restaurant industry, and he began exploring ways to build towards his vision for Brain Food Garden Project, pursuing training as a Mental Health Peer Advocate at Community Access's Howie the Harp Advocacy Center, as well as taking courses at New York Farm School and at The Urban Justice Center. For many years, Sean operated BFGP as a passion project, maintaining a website, blog and social media presence, conducting a variety of workshops, garden projects and trainings to inspire community engagement as well as promoting the linkages between food justice, food as medicine, and mental health. Sean began raising funds through a fiscal sponsorship agreement with nonprofit BioCities, while supporting himself as a Mental Health Peer Advocate.
In 2024, with the support of a team of champions, Sean decided it was time to devote himself full time to launching the Brain Food Garden Project as an independent organization. BFGP’s founding Board of Directors had their first meeting in early 2025. By mid-year, we expect to have our NYS Certificate of Incorporation and our 501(c)3 letter. We are in conversations to build partnerships with both Rising Ground and the NYS Office of Mental Health about possible garden locations for the 2025 and 2026 growing seasons. To stay up to date on Brain Food Garden Project’s progress check our Media page.
While working as a peer advocate in a residential apartment building in Queens, NY for the Association of Care Management and Housing (ACMH), a supportive housing building for people with mental health challenges, Sean worked with residents to establish a garden club, creating the first Brain Food Garden Project garden in 2016. He also developed and delivered a series of workshops on the connection between mindful eating and mental health. In 2017, Sean was recognized as NY1's Queens Person of the Week for his work with the BFGP Garden Club and working with residents to grow their own flowers, lettuces, and herbs while creating peer centered conversations around mental health.
The Brain Food Garden Project was the focus of a 2017-2018 course on Designing for Sustainability and Resilience at NYC’s School for Visual Arts. Students spent the semester learning about the peer movement and urban farming and developed final projects that included logos, marketing materials and design guidelines for BFGP. BFGP adopted the logo designed by one of the programs amazing design students artist Ellen Rose.
Sean was invited back to his alma mater Community Access's Howie the Harp Advocacy Center as a consultant/facilitator. He created BFGP’s first Feeding Our Mental Health Workshop for the 2018 cohort. The three-and-a-half-hour course consisted of the history of the food justice movement, food as medicine, and shopping for mindful eating on a budget. In October of that year Sean was invited to give one of the Keynote addresses to the graduating class. Sean has continued to expand on this partnership with Community Access now facilitating two workshops biannually.
In 2017, BFGP began collaborating with Baltic Street Wellness Solutions, the largest first-generation peer-operated program in the nation. As a consultant and later staff member, Sean helped drop-in center participants create an indoor garden space, facilitated regular garden club meetings and offered BFGP Presents: Feeding Our Mental Health Workshops. In 2022 Brain Food Garden Project is awarded a Community Partnership Award by partner Baltic Street Wellness Solutions. The partnership continues to this day with BFGP facilitating semi-monthly garden club meetings and workshops and advising on the management of their new hydroponic garden center.
In 2019, BFGP signed a fiscal partnership agreement with BioCities, the nonprofit arm of Kathleen Bakewell's urban landscape design company Brook Farm Group. This agreement allowed Brain Food Garden Project to seek tax-deductible donations to support our work.
In May 2024, Sean was nominated in the category of "Leading the Charge" at the first ever Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health Community Health Workers/Peer Support Workers Recognition Event and Awards Breakfast. After the ceremony, he stated "It was an honor to be nominated with such amazing and diverse peer advocates doing such important work in our community."
In Fall 2024, Sean announced that he had written a book titled The Compassionate Path: Navigating Mental Health Peer Advocacy and Nonprofit Development. The purpose of the book is to inspire mental health peer advocates with a "big idea" for their own nonprofit, providing hope and insight based on Sean’s own lived experience and journey. The book will be released through Amazon and Kindle in 2025 and proceeds will benefit BFGP.