Help Us Celebrate 100 Gardens!

August 23, 2017

 

  

                                                     All People's Garden, 1979                                                                      Governors Island Teaching Garden, 2017

 

We are thrilled to announce that this fall GrowNYC will build our 100th new community garden!

We opened our first garden, All People’s Garden, in the East Village in 1979. It takes a village: over the years we've worked with community residents, neighborhood associations, corporate volunteers, community partners, and city agencies. In addition to the 100 community gardens GrowNYC has built from the ground up, we’ve also lent our support to hundreds more.

To celebrate this milestone, we will be sharing photos and stories from GrowNYC gardening history every week until the 100th garden opening in October!

Though we have built 100 community gardens since 1975, 43 of those gardens have been built since 2013, thanks in part to a growing recognition of their importance for the health of NYC residents like you!

This story is far from over and WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP THIS INCREDIBLE MOMENTUM GOING!!

Please keep NYC healthy and green by contributing to GrowNYC's New Garden Fund at http://www.grownyc.org/100-gardens.

NY Times covers GrowNYC S. Bronx Garden

August 7, 2017
Posted in Community Gardens

The New York Times recently profiled several Bronx community gardeners as part of an article about immigrant gardeners and their influence on the increasing number of community gardens being built across the City.  

The Bronx gardeners profiled are all from United We Stand Community Garden, a garden GrowNYC rebuilt in 2016.  

Greenmarket Summer Resolutions

July 31, 2017
Posted in Greenmarket

Making New Year’s resolutions is a relatively easy thing to do; keeping them, on the other hand, is not always a piece of cake (especially when you resolved to give up cake). If you’re a little chagrined by your follow-through this year, fret not. You get another chance!

At GrowNYC, we believe in Summer Resolutions. There’s so much inspiration to be found at the Greenmarkets in the dog days of summer. Here are a few of our favorite Summer Resolutions:

  • New Market Adventure: Visit a Greenmarket you’ve never been to before. There are 51 of them throughout NYC. You may just find your favorite new farmer!
  • Take a Chance: Try a new (to you!) vegetable. Maybe it’s a tomatillo, a pattypan squash, or epazote—just something new. You could also experiment with a local grain from the GrowNYC Grainstand that you’ve never cooked with before. (Related hot tip: keep an eye out for naked barley).
  • Gear Up for Winter: Connect with your inner squirrel and prepare for winter. All those beautiful fruits and vegetables at market now can be enjoyed year-round…with a little planning. Here are some tips for freezing, jamming, and pickling
  • Many Greenmarket farmers welcome visitors for wine tastings, apple picking, and tours - head out of town to visit them
  • Fertilizing Fervor: With more and more compost drop-off sites popping up all around the city, now’s the perfect time to make good on that vow to start composing. It’s like nature’s way of recycling, and it feels great.

This list could go on and on--Cook more fish! Make it Locally-Sourced Fish! Consistently Pack a Lunch!--but we’ve got just over 60 days of summer left. We hope you enjoy it!

Project Farmhouse State of Seafood Dinner

June 26, 2017

On June 15th, GrowNYC's Project Farmhouse hosted the first in our Chef Seasonal Dinner Series. It was a seafood soiree, beginning with a double book reading by sustainable fisheries expert and New York Times bestselling author, Paul Greenberg (who read from American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood), and Stephanie Villani, co-owner of Blue Moon Fish, a family operation that catches wild, local fish off the coast of Mattituck, on the North Fork of Long Island, who read an excerpt from her forthcoming cookbook, The Fisherman’s Wife.

This thoroughly informative and entertaining conversation with Paul and Stephanie was later followed by a four-course seated dinner featuring local seafood and shellfish prepared by Bill Telepan of Oceana, Howard Kalachnikoff of Gramercy Tavern, Melissa Rodriguez of Del Posto, Kerry Heffernan of Grand Banks, and Ron Paprocki of Gotham Bar and Grill.

In short, it was epic – as illustrated in this slideshow.

Look out for more info on our next dinner in the series!

Farmhouse Seafood Fundraiser

Photography by Amanda Gentile

GrowNYC's Response to the US' Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord

June 1, 2017
Posted in GrowNYC

Now what? We keep on moving forward.

Why bother? Because each person’s actions, decisions and behavior still matter.

Is this it? Not yet.

People are fired up, mobilized, taking action.

Here at GrowNYC we continue to be astounded by the power of the people who take action to stop climate change and make a difference for all of us.

We see it in the faces of NYC community gardeners, in the joyful first harvest of our youngest school gardeners, in the sweat and determination of regional farmers.

The friendly smiles at Greenmarkets, Youthmarkets and Fresh Food Box sites.

The people who ride their bikes to drop off food scraps.

We see it in you.

We stand together – all of us.

GrowNYC At A Glance

The State of Seafood with Paul Greenberg and Blue Moon Fish

May 31, 2017
Posted in Greenmarket

Join GrowNYC and Greenmarket for a conversation with Paul Greenberg and Stephanie Villani about the current state of seafood and politics surrounding the fishing industry.

Paul Greenberg, sustainable fisheries expert and New York Times bestselling author, is featured in the PBS Frontline special, "The Fish on My Plate," airing April 25, 2017.  Stephanie and her husband Alex own Blue Moon Fish, a family operation that catches wild, local fish off the coast of Mattituck, on the North Folk of Long Island. 

Sustainable Seafood Q & A and Cookbook Release Celebration
Thursday, June 15th
4pm-6pm, $15

Earlier in the evening, eventgoers will grab a drink and seafood appetizer prepared by Bowery Road restaurant before participating in a Q & A with Paul and Stephanie, and celebrate the release of Stephanie's new cookbook, "The Fisherman's Wife." 
Tickets here

Summer Seafood Dinner
Thursday, June 15th
7pm-10pm, $300 or sponsorship table of 10, $5000 
(Table host recognized at event and featured in electronic event materials)
Dinner ticket holders will enjoy cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres followed by a seated four-course dinner, featuring local and sustainably-sourced seafood and shellfish, prepared by Bill Telepan of Oceana, Melissa Rodriguez of Del Posto, Howard Kalachnikoff of Gramercy Tavern, Kerry Heffernan of Grand Banks, and Ron Paprocki of Gotham Bar and Grill. Spirits have been generously donated by New York Distilling Company and beer by Brooklyn Brewery
Tickets here
*The non-deductible portion of each ticket is $150, as this reflects the fair market value of goods and services to be provided at the event.

This fundraiser is the first in the Greenmarket Seasonal Dinner Series at GrowNYC's Project Farmhouse and will allow GrowNYC to continue working with partner organizations to offer Project Farmhouse as an educational space used for panel discussions, film screenings, and networking events focused on a just and sustainable local food system.

New Garden Build at a NYCHA site in Harlem

May 8, 2017
Posted in Community Gardens

 

GrowNYC's garden program recently built a new garden at the New York City Housing Authority's PS 139 Conversion senior housing development in Harlem.

With help from volunteers from Helmsley Charitable Trust, we built 30+ garden beds and moved 20 tons of topsoil, giving the residents of PS 139 Conversion an accessible garden that they'll be able to use for many years to come.

Check out a timelapse of the build below - and let us know if you're interested in organizing a build day of your own!

 

Announcing #GMKTnyc and the Official GrowNYC Hashtag Guide! 

May 3, 2017
Posted in Greenmarket

There are so many ways to connect with us at market and online, but now we want to see all your best photos in one place. We’re happy to introduce #GMKTnyc. 

GMKT stands for Greenmarket, and nyc is, well NYC: this phenomenal city where we operate over 50 Greenmarkets. We want to see your peak produce photos, what seasonal recipes you’re cooking, what farmers are farming, and more. Throughout the week we'll regram our favorites across all our accounts. (P.S. Be sure to follow them all here!)

In addition to using #GMKTnyc, tag us in other ways,  whether you’re shopping in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, or the Bronx! 

GMKTNYC.jpg

#GMKTDogs
For all those shots of your darling dog shopping with you at market. 

GMKTDOGS.jpg

#GMKTHolidays
Cooking for a holiday with market ingredients? Snap a pic and share it! 

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#OhSNAPnyc
Did you buy something delicious with SNAP benefits or Health Bucks? Maybe you cooked a delicious meal with it. Tag us!

#letsGrowNYC
Tag GrowNYC in your photos and show us how you live sustainably in NYC!

#YMKTnyc
GrowNYC operates 18 Youthmarkets throughout NYC. Include #YMKTnyc on your photos featuring this magnificent program that brings fresh, affordable local produce to neighborhoods throughout the city while at the same time empowering NYC youth.

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#growtolearnnyc and #learntogrow
Gardens can be particularly photogenic. Photos of Grow-to-learn school gardens have an innate quality of determination. Spread the joy with either of these hashtags. 

Photos from the Project Farmhouse Open House

May 1, 2017
Posted in GrowNYC

Project Farmhouse Open House

Photos by Vitaliy Piltser

Project Farmhouse opened its doors to the public on April 29th, with festivities that included cooking demos, garden workshops, recycling games, and lots of environmental education.

Thanks to everyone that came out, and we hope to see you all again soon!

Adaptive Farms: Resilient Tables

April 4, 2017

GrowNYC staffer Maria Rojas of Greenmarket's FARMroots program gave this incredible speech at the United Nations Development Program's Adaptive Farms: Resilient Tables event on April 3, 2017. 

My last four years of work at GrowNYC have been dedicated to preserving family farms, strengthening the local foodshed, and keeping our rich agricultural land in production. I first became interested in farming at my grandparents’ farm in Colombia. There I was exposed to the beauty and the hardship of farming. Before I was born, a volcano had swept through my family’s town and destroyed everything my grandparents had built -their home, their friends, their farm. They, like other farmers before them, chose to rebuild and it was this thriving farm where I spent my days.

Farmers have always been on the frontlines of nature and political whim. They hold the distinction of being highly vulnerable to climate change and at the same time offering a solution to the problem.

Despite these and many other challenges farmers remain stewards of the land, feed others, and build communities around them.

Over the past 120 years there has been a 2.4-degree increase in average temperatures in the Northeast. We have added 10 more frost free days to the season and have had to redraw our hardiness zone map to reflect that winters are now warmer that they used to be. Spring’s arrival is happening 4-13 days earlier, and we have had a 5-inch increase in precipitation, yet last year we had a severe drought in many parts of the state. The warmer winters might seem like a benefit to many, but not to farmers who lost 40-60 percent of their apples and almost 100 percent of their peaches and plums last year due to unprecedented temperature fluctuations. The average New Yorker would not be able to tell you that frost now comes 10 days later than normal, but a farmer would!

These changes are not insignificant and, unfortunately they are only the beginning of a wave of high impact deviations that the changing climate is set to bring. With it we can also expect changes in pest and weed pressure andplant and animal disease, as well as variations in crop yields. It is, by and large, a bleak picture as farming is set to become increasingly harder as our climate crisis worsens.

Farmers, although they operate as individual businesses, make up the agricultural foodshed upon which we rely on every day--increasingly so in times of disaster. When Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, it was this network of farmers that got into the hard-hit places and provided much needed food relief to the families that had been impacted. In the days following the storm, groceries stores were empty or closed but the farmers’ markets were up and running within 72 hours. The mobile terminals at the market used for processing EBT were some of the few places a family on a limited income could use their SNAP benefits. Farmers brought in 180,000 lbs of food which with the help of volunteer organizations was turned into hot meals. They brought not only food but also much needed fuel to help power up our trucks to make last mile deliveries to New Yorkers in need.

This is not a one-way relationship. When storms and other disasters have affected farmers, the community that has built around them has not stood by the wayside. In 2011, when Hurricane Irene swept through the northeast and flooded many of our farmers’ fields, New Yorkers came together to help them rebuild. In one-month, Greenmarket shoppers raised $135,000 that was then redistributed to 33 of the hardest hit farms. These small grants helped farmers keep the lights on, the fuel running, and jump start the rebuilding process.

The community that forms around local food is at the core of what makes the NYC foodshed resilient. The exchange of support and ideas and the determination to thrive together is the truest definition of community. At the markets, farmers bring with them not only produce, meat, cheese, and cider, but also news of the weather--of how their soil responded to last week’s rain event. They bring news of how their rural communities are being impacted by policy. They tell tales of what the farm was like when it started in 1921. In return, a NYC shopper originally from the Dominican Republic might bring a farmer some seeds of cilantro macho for the farmer to try, or tell the farmer of how her family depended on moringa in times of drought. A few might begin volunteering at the farm on weekends hoping to one day leave the city life to try their hand at farming themselves. This exchange is as rich as the soil the farmers grow on, and it is key to the existence of each. The farmers' market is a catalyst for community connection and for reconnecting with food that is not only good for us but also for the planet.

Tonight’s event is another model for how the building of communities and the exchange of ideas is critical to our survival in the face of a changing climate. The United States, having caused a disproportionate amount of emissions to the rest of the world, has a moral responsibility to transfer wealth, knowledge, and technology to developing countries. The United States also has a moral responsibility to listen to and learn from the climate change adaptation projects represented tonight and from farmers across the world who have always been the stewards of the land.

When I think about sustainability and food security, I think about the people that make up these systems. And as people who eat, we all do! I think of the neural-like system of influence traveling up and down the Hudson Valley--much like neurons, those connections are what forces us to grow, to change, and to adapt. And as we reinforce those pathways and human connections, we can only become ever more resilient.

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