Down near the docks in Red Hook, Brooklyn — behind the public housing projects, beyond the bars and bodegas that cater to old-timers, and past the brunch spots that cater to new residents — is a massive project that has made dramatic changes in the character of the neighborhood, offered an entirely new product, and provided employment for the residents. No, it’s not Ikea, the big blue box store that opened here late in 2008 — it’s Added Value, a 2.75-acre farm in the city.

Added Value’s product is not Swedish furniture but fresh produce. The produce is hyperlocal: It’s grown on the spot by Brooklyn teenagers, in a park that, 10 years ago, was just asphalt courts ringed with 20-foot-high chain-link fences. Now, the spot is filled with rich soil, piled and packed into rows and furrows. In this unlikely patch of soil, the teens from Added Value’s youth projects have planted, tended, and harvested a wealth of healthful vegetables: lettuce, collard greens, carrots, cucumbers, even turnips.

And while Ikea is a marvel of vertical integration on a global scale, Added Value is a model of just how local our food can be. In addition to selling their produce at a farmers’ market and offering shares of the farm in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, the hardworking teens at Added Value also sell their produce to local restaurants and donate a portion to community-based organizations. They are truly an example of what a local economy can offer in a global world.

Tune in to our Labor Day episode to hear more about the young farmers at Added Value and the amazing work they do.