In June 2019, the New York State Legislature passed historic legislation, the Farmworkers Fair Labor Protection Act (FFLPA), making New York one of a handful of US states that provides overtime, housing protections, and a series of other rights to the people that harvest the crops grown in our state.
 
Farmworkers, along with domestic workers, have been excluded from the federal labor protections established in the 1930’s, and the FFLPA begins to address this inequity. 
 
While this legislation is essential, the FFLPA will result in a 30-50% increase in labor costs to our New York farms. Additionally, the federal guest worker program that so many of our farms rely on for its labor force increased its base wage by 7.5%. Accordingly, some of these farms will have to increase prices on certain items in order to survive. And because these policies went into effect January 2020, the time of the year when our farms bring in the least amount of income, you may see these price increases implemented over the next few weeks.
 
We thank you, our incredible community, for continuing to support the 240 Greenmarket Producers who drive into the city every week. You ensure that the 38,000 acres represented at Greenmarkets continue to produce more than 12,000 varieties of fruits and vegetables, thus preventing the land from being paved over. Without you, over 85% of these farmers, fishermen, and bakers would be out of business, having to rely on the industrial, wholesale system that prioritizes profits over people and land. 
 
We thank you for shopping with your values and buying your fresh food directly from the farms paying the most equitable wages in the world while promoting biodiversity and land stewardship. 
 
Time after time we have come together as a community: most recently after the destruction upstate caused by Hurricane Irene, and when our neighbors were devastated here by Superstorm Sandy. Our fates are interconnected, and despite the narrative of a national rural-urban divide, our community proves what is possible when we engage and truly prioritize what unites us.
 
If you have any questions, we encourage you to talk to the farmers at market, go to the Market Information Tent and speak with a Greenmarket Manager, call the office, or write to us at info@greenmarket.grownyc.org.