Greenmarket's Food Access Initiatives
Greenmarket's commitment to supporting regional family farms and providing all New Yorkers with fresh, local food extends beyond our 53 farmers markets. Our food access initiatives help make regional produce even more affordable and accessible to the communities that need it. Through partnerships with local businesses and non-profits, we build programs that meet the needs of New York's neighborhoods.
EBT at Farmers Markets
By accepting EBT/food stamp payments at Greenmarkets, GrowNYC aims to provide all shoppers with access to healthy local food. By combining EBT outreach with the Federal Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), WIC Vegetable and Fruit Checks, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Health Buck Program, GrowNYC is helping to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to fresh and nutritious products.
Fresh Bodegas
GrowNYC and Red Jacket Orchards have joined forces to create Fresh Bodegas, making regular deliveries of Greenmarket produce and products from Red Jacket’s farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York to stores in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, an area of the city with particularly limited access to fresh produce.
Fresh Bodegas is working to provide New York City residents with access to affordably priced, locally grown produce at the stores where they already shop.
Youthmarket
Youthmarket is a network of urban farm stands operated by neighborhood youth, supplied by local farmers, and designed to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to communities throughout New York City. Through Youthmarket, families in all five boroughs now have increased access to farm fresh food.
Fresh Pantry Project
Each week, farmers from 35 Greenmarkets throughout NYC donate their fresh fruits and vegetables to either City Harvest or directly to local food pantries, homeless facilities, soup kitchens, drug rehabilitation centers, transitional living residences, and senior centers. By connecting regional farmers with in-need New Yorkers, Greenmarket, the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, and City Harvest are helping to address hunger and build community around healthy, local foods.