Growing a healthier, more equitable city

Growing up in the Bronx as a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic equipped Henry Obispo ’04 with a global perspective and a mission to give back.

“[The Bronx] has a glorious history because there’s a lot of art here, there’s a lot of culture here. And above all, a lot of resilience that allows for a special environment,” Obispo says. “But there are social issues that have plagued us for some time that have to do with how systems work and have worked in this country.”

Now a social entrepreneur and activist, Obispo has sparked award-winning food justice initiatives to change the nutritional landscape of one of the poorest congressional districts in the country — solving problems that have compromised access to healthy, sustainable food and stunted economic development for generations.

As a child in the Dominican Republic, Obispo harvested fruits and vegetables from his aunt’s garden and accompanied his grandmother on daily trips to the market. He started experimenting with cooking when he was only 2½ years old and continued after immigrating to New York with his family at the age of 5.

Part of the Educational Opportunity Program, he found support and encouragement at Binghamton University. Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences Associate Dean Sharon Bryant, then a Harpur College professor of Africana studies, recognized his potential and pushed him to succeed, he remembers. While he was hesitant to join the environmental studies program due to the absence of other minority students, Obispo engaged with nature in his own way — as a “tree-hugger” foraging for berries in the Nature Preserve.

“[Binghamton] really just became this place where I could spread my wings and be my true self in all aspects,” he says.

Bryant has kept in touch with Obispo through the years and follows his professional trajectory when she visits her family in Brooklyn.

“I have fond memories of meeting Henry in my office and listening to his dreams,” she says. “Last summer, Henry gave me a tour of the Caribbean Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. He was one of the collaborators with this project.”

Nurturing the greater good

Obispo majored in English, graduating with departmental honors. He was also a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, which completely funded his tuition through his master’s degree in international business at New York University. The selective scholarship also allowed Obispo to study abroad in countries like Cuba, Brazil and Spain.

In Brazil, he saw similarities between Rio de Janeiro and his neighborhood back home. While “the globe was at your doorstep” in the Bronx, Obispo had also been exposed to an urgent food desert overwhelmed by socioeconomic disparities and issues such as disinvestment, redlining and structural racism.

Until that point, he had considered going to law school. However, participating in a social entrepreneurship program established by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research during his time in Brazil ultimately reconfigured his professional aspirations.

“I wanted to be able to develop ideas and projects that will be of service to the community and the planet, for the greater good in general,” Obispo says. “That was really when I understood the path I wanted to take.”

Obispo got to work mobilizing community members after securing a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. He became president of the United Business Cooperative (UBC) in 2014; the organization works with small immigrant-owned restaurants to negotiate collective purchasing contracts while countering the gentrification encroaching upon the borough.

His journey continued with the founding of Born Juice, the Bronx’s first cold-pressed juice bar and plant-based eatery. He then established the Bronx Salad Initiative, built on the farm-to-table model of sustainability focused on zero waste and a neutral carbon footprint. Fresh produce from collard greens to carrots are sourced from hydroponic, rooftop gardens tucked away in greenhouses in the Bronx skyline.

The initiative brought together more than 70 local organizations to source and serve salads made from local ingredients such as black beans and plantain chips, emblematic of the cultural diversity in the South Bronx. It’s been one of the most successful food projects in the Bronx to date, with participation from dozens of restaurants and elementary schools.

His most recent project, ReBORN Farms, was launched in 2022 to expand the Bronx Salad Initiative and the related ReBORN Food Initiative, originally conceived during the pandemic through a partnership with the New York Restoration Project. ReBORN Farms continues to establish accessible urban farms in public housing projects across the South Bronx, providing locals with the opportunity to grow their own food as a means of education and employment.

Through ReBORN Farms, Obispo proposes the goal of “taking back the power of this trickle down food system” and restoring sovereignty to Bronx residents, teaching them about health and the planet.

“What I do is really a thank-you for the gifts I’ve been given,” he says. “I feel like I can give back because [the Bronx] has given me so much and allowed me to go into the world and be this global citizen, and I want to bring all that back.”

As Obispo strives to build an inclusive, greener future for the historically marginalized area, he hopes to take his vision worldwide to help all African diaspora communities in need. Describing himself as a “steward of ideas” greater than himself, his goals are shaped by all the activism that preceded him.

“I stand on the shoulders of others who have come before me,” Obispo says. “I can only do it differently because of how I see the world and the life that I’ve lived.”