$2.5 Million Awarded to NY Urban Farms and Community Gardens

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets today announced that $2.5 million has been awarded to 51 organizations across the state through Round 3 of New York State’s Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program. The program is designed to support community growing spaces and recognize their impact on local food resiliency and food security for New Yorkers. Funding for the program was included in the Fiscal Year 2025 and 2026 Enacted Budgets and builds on Governor Hochul’s commitment to increasing affordability and food access for all New Yorkers. The program is just one example of the many ways that New York State prioritizes reducing food insecurity and supporting food producers, in contrast to the federal government’s reckless cuts to critical nutrition programs.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “The Urban Farms and Community Gardens program continues to grow year over year, demonstrating the significance of these growing spaces that are integral to a strong, reliable food supply.  These projects span across the entirety of our state, helping to meet the needs of our communities, which is more important now than ever before. I congratulate all the awardees and applaud their vision for expanded growing spaces and enhanced educational programming, helping to directly connect our communities to agriculture.”

Funding was awarded to 51 urban farms and community gardens across the state for projects that focus on food production, food safety, and food distribution while also creating a lasting impact on local food resiliency. Awards will help the organizations managing these spaces to expand gardens, build structures, purchase equipment, and establish educational programs. The awarded recipients include:

Capital Region

• Albany City School District - $50,000
• Capital Roots Inc - $49,994
• Pitney Meadows Community Farm Inc - $50,000
• Radix Ecological Sustainability Center - $50,000
• Schenectady School District - $48,260
• Town of Bethlehem - $50,000

Central New York

• Cornell Cooperative Extension: Madison - $50,000
• Hopeprint, Inc. - $40,915

Finger Lakes

• Blueprint Geneva Inc - $50,000
• Equicenter Inc - $39,140
• Foodlink Inc - $50,000
• Taproot Collective - $50,000

Long Island

• Hofstra University - $49,960
• Peconic Land Trust Inc - $49,995
• Suffolk County Soil and Water - $50,000
• The Research Foundation for the State (Stony Brook Southhampton) - $47,002

Mid-Hudson

• Community Based Services Inc - $49,780
• Common Ground Farm Inc - $50,000
• Ecological Citizens Project Inc - $50,000
• NatureConnect New York Inc - $50,000
• Poughkeepsie Farm Project - $50,000
• The Lincoln Park Conservancy Inc - $49,696
• United Way of Westchester and Putnam Inc - $50,000
• YMCA of Kingston & Ulster County - $50,000

Mohawk Valley

• Cornell Cooperative Extension: Herkimer - $50,000
• Cornell Cooperative Extension: Oneida - $49,887

New York City

• Bronx River Alliance - $50,000
• Children’s Aid Society - $50,000
• City Parks Foundation - $50,000
• Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York - $50,000
• New York Restoration Project - $50,000
• New York Sun Works Inc. - $49,931
• Randalls Island Park Alliance Inc. - $47,050
• Services for the Underserved Inc - $50,000
• The Kingsbridge Heights Community Center - $50,000
• The New York Botanical Garden - $50,000
• We Stay Nos Quemado’s Inc - $50,000
• Wyckoff House & Association Inc. - $50,000

Southern Tier

• Cornell Cooperative Extension: Broome - $50,000
• Cornell Cooperative Extension: Steuben - $49,929
• Unadilla Community Farm Education Center - $50,000
• Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments - $50,000
• Whitney Point School District - $40,544

Western New York

• Buffalo Vineyard Inc - $50,000
• D’Youville College - $49,998
• Fare Share Western New York - $36,600
• Grassroots Gardens of Western New York - $50,000
• Kenmore – Town of Tonawanda School - $50,000
• Pelion Outdoor Classroom - $49,960
• Providence Farm Collective Corp - $50,000
• Salamanca City School District - $50,000

In Round 1 of the program, $800,000 was awarded to 35 organizations, and in Round 2 of the program, $1 million was awarded to 22 organizations across the state through the Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program.

In addition to the Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grant Program, additional initiatives support these community growing spaces, such as the New York State Community Gardens Leadership Certificate Program, the New York State Soil Testing Program, and the Community Garden Workbook.

These programs build on several initiatives that support New York’s efforts to strengthen and ensure a more resilient system, increase access to food for all New Yorkers, and provide new markets for farmers, including Nourish New York, Farm-to-School Programs, the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs, and more.

New York is home to more than 3,000 registered or permitted urban and community gardens. Through its community gardens efforts, the Department of Agriculture and Markets helps foster greener, healthier cities by connecting community groups with state or local agencies to facilitate the use of vacant properties for community gardens. This grant program complements the Department’s ongoing efforts to provide technical assistance to community growing organizations statewide and promote urban agriculture.