State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced that $800,000 has been awarded to 35 organizations across the state through the Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program. Funding for the program, which is designed to support community growing spaces and recognize their impact on local food resiliency, was included in the FY 2023 Enacted Budget and is a part of Governor Hochul’s 2023 State of the State commitment to making local food more accessible to all New Yorkers.
Commissioner Ball said, “Community gardens and urban farms are critical players in ensuring we have a strong, flexible, and streamlined local food supply chain. From rooftop farming to neighborhood gardens, these spaces are often based in the communities they serve and can respond directly to the unique needs and aspirations of their residents. The Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program provides community growers the support they need to continue giving our underserved communities greater access to nutritious, farm-fresh food.”
Funding was awarded to 35 urban farms and community gardens across the state for projects focusing on food production, food safety, and food distribution while creating a lasting impact on local food resiliency. The awarded recipients include:
New York City
- City Parks Foundation, Abib Newborn Garden - $25,000.00
- Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Inc., 325th Anniversary Expansion: Queens County Farm Museum - $25,000.00
- Edible Schoolyard New York, Edible Schoolyard NYC - $25,000.00
- Green Guerillas Inc, Establishing a Tool Share and Seed Library for NYC Community Gardeners - $25,000.00
- Queens Botanical Garden Society, Inc., Queens Botanical Garden - Urban Farm- $25,000.00
- Red Hook Initiative, Growing Food and Community in Red Hook, Brooklyn - $25,000.00
- RiseBoro Community Partnership Inc., Bushwick Grows! Community Farm- $25,000.00
- Teens for Food Justice, Inc., Brian Piccolo Educational Campus - $25,000.00
- The Brooklyn Queens Land Trust, Brooklyn Queens Land Trust (4 Community Gardens in Brooklyn) - $22,389.59
- The Children's Aid Society, Children's Aid at Fairmont Neighborhood School - $25,000.00
- The New York and Presbyterian Hospital, Hattie Carthan Community Foodways: Expanding Community Agriculture to Improve Food Security - $25,000.00
- Riverdale Neighborhood House Inc., Riverdale Neighborhood House- $25,000.00
Capital Region
- Capital Roots Inc., Myrtle and Irving Community Garden - $25,000.00
- Eden's Rose Foundation, Albany Victory Gardens - $25,000.00
- Pitney Meadows Community Farm, Inc., Pitney Meadows Community Farm - $11,805.65
- Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, The South End Food Sovereignty and Justice Program - $25,000.00
- Schenectady School District, Schenectady CSD Agriculture and Markets Project 2023 - $10,575.00
Central New York
- Brady Faith Center Inc., Building Capacity of the Brady Farm - $24,998.00
- Young Men's Christian Association of Central New York, Inc., North Area Family YMCA -$25,000.00
Finger Lakes
- Cooperative Extension Association in the State of NY Yates County, Yates Co. Accessible Community Garden Beds & Water Infrastructure Upgrades - $24,641.51
- Rochester City School District, OACES Urban Garden - $24,560.00
- Taproot Collective, Taproot Collective- $25,000.00
Long Island
- North Shore Land Alliance Inc., Roosevelt Community Garden - $13,815.00
- The Town of Oyster Bay, Community Farm and Garden at Oyster Bay - $24,048.00
Mid-Hudson
- Ecological Citizens Project Inc., Ecological Citizen's Project - $24,889.00
- Young Men's Christian Association of Yonkers Inc., YMCA of Yonkers, Inc. - $25,000.00
- Young Men's Christian Association of Kingston and Ulster County, Growing a Healthier Kingston - $24,922.00
Mohawk Valley
- Upstate Cerebral Palsy Inc., Community Gardening for People with Differing Abilities Project - $25,000.00
- Utica Center for Development, Veterans Urban Farming Project - $25,000.00
Southern Tier
- Binghamton City School District, Coolidge Community Garden - $10,132.00
- Village of Bainbridge, Bainbridge Community Garden - $5,772.66
- Windsor Center School District, Windsor Land Lab - $25,000.00
Western New York
- Buffalo Vineyard, Inc., 5 Loaves Farm - $25,000.00
- Grassroots Gardens of Western New York, GGWNY Community Garden Resource Center- $25,000.00
- Massachusetts Avenue Project Inc., Massachusetts Avenue Project- $25,000.00
The Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program was announced in Governor Hochul’s 2022 State of the State Address as part of the Governor’s commitment to making local food more accessible to all New Yorkers and to encourage more urban farming. Earlier this year, the Department announced it would be taking a statewide study of urban agriculture to better understand the industry and put forth policy recommendations to further support it.
This grant program complements the Department’s ongoing efforts to provide technical assistance to community growing organizations statewide and promote urban agriculture. New York is home to more than 1,000 registered or permitted urban and community gardens. Through its Community Gardens Program, the Department helps foster greener, healthier cities by connecting community groups with state or local agencies to facilitate the use of vacant properties for community gardens.
Source : ny.gov