GrowNYC Grains 2018 Year in Review

January 25, 2019
Posted in Greenmarket | Tagged Grains

Grains 2018 Year in Review

It was another action-packed year, with new projects sprouting up daily, as the staple crop revolution continues to take root across the country.

Our intrepid leader June Russell traveled the country to share lessons from the front lines at several key conferences, starting with her keynote address at the Cascadia Grains Conference in Olympia, Washington. We also attended:

We love sharing our story, offering lessons learned, and gaining inspiration from the many folks we meet.

2018 Year in Grains

In February, Greenmarket bakers – those who participate in our program and sell at our markets – met to learn about new resources for baking local, as well as to discuss increasing the percentage of local flour we require bakers to use from 15% to 25%. Greenmarket bakers average 38% local flour and use over 65,000 pounds of local grains and flour each month. We are proud of the progress they have made, and we’re excited that it gives us still more proof that supply and demand are steadily rising.

At the end of the month we relaunched our Home Bakers Meet-Up as an annual event, giving beginners and skilled home bakers a place to show off their goods, compare notes with their peers, and chat with professional bakers. This year we are hosting the annual meet-up on March 4th,. Click here for tickets and more information.  

Fields of grain in the City? Not exactly. But in 2018 we collaborated with GrowNYC’s Governors Island Teaching Garden and NYU Urban Farm Lab to plant several varieties of small grains. We were thrilled to see sheaves of grain in the most urban setting of all. We look forward to more collaborations, so keep an eye out for more GrowNYC mini-grain farms around the city.

In May we welcomed to market Ulli’s Oil Mill. Look out for Ulli’s high quality organic, local, cold-pressed oils--like hemp, camelina, and pumpkin seed--sourced from New York farms, coming soon to GrowNYC’s Union Square Greenmarket and other weekend Greenmarkets. 

In June we moved our granary to Industry City. We now have more space to co-pack and stage for our markets. We are getting to know our amazing neighbors at IC, many of whom are emailing us for drop-in shopping appointments.

In July, the GrowNYC Grains team took an awesome road trip through the Hudson Valley. We explored the innovative ways farmers, brewers, and bakers are incorporating the burgeoning bounty of northeastern grains into their breads, beers, and fields. Check out our previous post on the grains scene of Columbia and Greene counties.

September brought the Culinary Breeding Network’s Variety Showcase to Project Farmhouse for a dazzling afternoon. GrowNYC Grains was thrilled to host, for the first time on the East Coast, this annual breeder-to-eater celebration, where chefs created dishes spotlighting over 20 breeding projects from around the country. Grains were well represented. Gramercy Tavern's Michael Anthony, who was a grant partner with us on a prior USDA project, featured emmer alongside wheat breeder Mark Sorrells from Cornell University. Pat Hayes and his team from Oregon State University, alongside Metta head Chef Norberto Piattoni, featured their work in hull-less (or “naked”) barley. We were also thrilled to have folks come out from The Bread Lab of Washington State University.

We took advantage of the time we had with our west coast colleagues by hosting a barley tasting the very next day. Guests at the special gathering at Threes Brewing in Brooklyn learned about the Oregon-based field trials of several varieties of naked barley and tasted the grain in both crackers and delicious malted barley tea. Mark Sorrells and his team at Cornell, also a partner on the naked barley project, harvested the first 1500 lbs from their research fields in Ithaca, NY. We introduced buck, streaker and purple barley to New York consumers. Look for more in the coming years as we scale up new varieties. 

October was all about rye. The second annual New York Rye Week fell mid-month, giving rye lovers exciting events around the clock. For our part, we hosted Rye Day at the Union Square Greenmarket. New York Distilling showcased its Empire rye whiskey, and others offered up an impressive array of rye beers, breads, and pastas.

In December, we were the lucky beneficiaries of a superb grains-themed dinner at Mettā, in Brooklyn. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Chef Norberto Piattoni, who thrilled us with dishes using ingredients from seven different grain farms and mills. And a huge thank you to Breukelen Distilling as well, for providing their rye whiskey as the base of a delicious Manhattan cocktail. And, of course, thanks to everyone who came out for this very special evening.

Last but not least… at the end of December, after three and a half years with GrowNYC Grains, Henry Blair worked his last day with us before heading off to new and exciting career projects. Henry was instrumental in helping launch and stabilize our retail program. During his tenure, he developed many relationships with chefs and bakers at market, assisting them to integrate local grains into their products. We will miss him and wish him the best in his new pursuits.

Visit GrowNYC's First Indoor Greenmarket!

January 18, 2019
Posted in Greenmarket | Tagged farmers market, Manhattan

Greenmarket at the Oculus

It’s been a big week for GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets – the first day of our first indoor market was wonderful!

On Tuesday, January 15th, the Greenmarket at the Oculus moved indoors to the delight of downtown residents, tourists, shoppers, and commuters crossing through.

You can find Greenmarket producers including Samascott Orchards, Meredith’s Bread, Francesca’s Bakery, 1857 Spirits, Riverine Ranch, and (soon) Roxbury Mountain Maple inside the Oculus every Tuesday this season.

Come on by! 

Host Your Own Community Swap!

January 2, 2019

Hosting a Swap is as Easy as D-I-Y with GrowNYC’s Guide to Community Reuse Events

We are pleased to announce the release of our new DIY Swap Guide!

Since 2007, GrowNYC has hosted 270 Stop ‘N’ Swap® community reuse events across all five boroughs. Our goal is to provide each of NYC’s 59 community districts an annual opportunity to find new homes for unwanted items that might otherwise end up in a landfill.  Still, the demand for reuse and desire to host and participate in community swaps extends beyond our program’s capacity. We created this guide to assist schools, community organizations, and passionate individuals interested in hosting their own swap events!

Whether you are looking to host a curated event for items such as clothes, books, or toys, or a big event where anything goes, the guide will help you identify an event location, map out your swap footprint, gather event materials, outline a training for your volunteers, and more.  We hope this guide will be a launching pad for more free reuse events across NYC.  

If you use our guide to host a swap, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to send us a note at recycle@grownyc.org or tag us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (@GrowNYC). 

Need further incentive to try out some creative reuse ideas in your neighborhood? Citizens Committee is currently accepting applications for micro-grants of up to $3,000 to resident-led groups working on community projects in the NYC, including those related to waste diversion. For more information, visit their website here.

Happy swapping! 

Deck the Halls - Christmas Trees + Holiday Wreaths at Greenmarkets

November 30, 2018
Posted in Greenmarket

Your locally grown Christmas trees, wreaths, and boughs will stay fresher longer and smell amazing. A list of markets where you can stock up on holiday greens follows:

Berried Treasures: Wreaths (79th Street Sunday and Union Square Wednesday/Friday/Saturday)
Durr Wholesale: Wreaths (Union Square Saturday) 
Hurds Family Farm: New York Grown & Certified Trees (Grand Army Plaza Saturday)
Keith's Farm: Organic trees and wreaths (Union Square Wednesday and Saturday)
Lebak Farms: Wreaths and boughs (Grand Army Plaza Saturday)
Luna Family Farm: Wreaths and bouquets (Brooklyn Borough Hall Thursday; Stuy Town Sunday; Union Square Wednesday)
Mountain Sweet Berry FarmWreaths, garland, and princess pines (Union Square Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday)
Rexcroft Farm: New York Grown & Certified Trees (Fort Greene Saturday); Wreaths (Dag Hammarskjold Wednesday; Fort Greene Saturday) 
River Garden: Dried flower wreaths (Union Square Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday)
Stokes Farm: Herb wreaths (Tucker Square Thursday and Saturday; Union Square Saturday)
Van Houten Farms: Trees and wreaths (Union Square Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday)

How to Save a Farm in the Hudson Valley

November 7, 2018
Posted in Greenmarket

Part of Greenmarket’s two-fold mission is to promote regional farmers and keep them on their land...farming.

Ask anyone in GrowNYC’s FARMroots program, and they’ll tell you that it’s not easy, particularly with increasing pressure on farm families to sell their lands for development. But they will also tell you that it is always worth it.

A recent article in the New Food Economy tells the story of how long-established Greenmarket farmer Morse Pitts, working with FARMroots, Equity Trust, Scenic Hudson, and the Orange County Land Trust, preserved a 72-acre farm from being paved over, blocking a proposed industrial development and placing the land under perpetual conservation easement.

A must-read – check it out!

GrowNYC Assistant Director Mike Rezny to Speak at Urban Soils Conference on 12/6/2018

November 3, 2018

Mike Rezny, GrowNYC’s Assistant Director of Open Space Greening, will give a presentation entitled “Delivering Urban Agriculture” at this year’s Urban Soils Symposium, hosted by the NYC Urban Soils Institute

Mike’s presentation will cover local commercial soil compositions, an overhead view of the material needed to build urban agriculture in New York Coty, and more. Mike will also moderate an afternoon panel entitled “Urban Soils of the City: inherent, altered, imported, exported, resilient.”

The 2018 Urban Soils Symposium takes place on December 6-7 at the New York Institute of Technology on the Upper West Side. More information about the conference is available here

Concord Crush Happy Hour 10/26 at Project Farmhouse

October 26, 2018
Posted in Greenmarket

Join us for our Concord Crush Happy Hour on October 26th at Project Farmhouse!

For everyone out there who loved drinking grape juice as a kid, this one's for you. GrowNYC, along with NYC chefs and mixologists, gather to celebrate one of the most iconic and delicious Autumn ingredients—Concord grapes. Join us for entertainment and Concord-themed tastes and libations. 

Concord Crush Happy Hour
Friday, October 26th, 6pm-8pm 
GrowNYC's Project Farmhouse, 76 East 13th Street, NY, NY 
Tickets here, $25

GrowNYC Greenmarket & Youthmarket Photo Contest

October 20, 2018
Posted in Greenmarket

Greenmarket 2018 Photo Contest

Farmers Markets are very photogenic.

To properly celebrate National Farmers Market Week this year, we invited photographers (professional, amateur, or student) to visit markets, snap some photos, and send us the images that best celebrate GrowNYC Greenmarkets and Youthmarkets. 

Our team of judges chose the top 25 entries for a roving photography show at various markets throughout the city during the month of October, and one grand prize-winning photograph won dinner for two at Loring Place

Rye Day 10/19 at the Union Square Greenmarket

October 19, 2018
Posted in Greenmarket

GrowNYC is proud to participate in the second annual Rye Week, a celebration of rye as an agricultural product in New York State, which will take place from October 15 – 21.

October 19th will be Rye Day at the Union Square Greenmarket. Johanna Kindvall, author of Smorgasbord: The Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats, will be at market signing books and demonstrating how to prepare flat breads with rye flour. Also in attendance will be Strong Rope Brewery, Breuckelen Distilling, Hillrock Estate Distillery, and the GrowNYC Grainstand

The Union Square Greenmarket will also host a number of Empire Rye producers on October 17 and October 20. Three years ago, six prominent New York State distilleries came up with the concept for Empire Rye, a whiskey style for the Empire State. Similar to the way Kentucky has a style of bourbon with strict standards, each Empire Rye distiller must adhere to the same specifications in producing their rye. 

“Not only does New York State’s craft beverage program create jobs, boost local economies, and financially benefit local grain farmers,” says GrowNYC President and CEO Marcel Van Ooyen, “it’s also great for the environment. Small grains are good for the soil when used in rotation with other crops. As the demand for grains like rye increases, so does the health of the soil on New York farms.”

Celebrating Our 250th Stop ‘N’ Swap®

September 21, 2018
Posted in Recycling | Tagged swap, Stop 'N' Swap, reduce, reuse, recycle

Stop 'N' Swap 250

At GrowNYC, there’s no stopping when it comes to swapping!  In an effort to reduce NYC’s waste and help more New Yorkers reuse perfectly good items, our zero waste programs funded by DSNY set out to provide an annual swap event for every community district in the five boroughs. 

This year we celebrate our 250th Stop ‘N’ Swap in NYC – all thanks to dedicated staff, our passionate volunteers, and diverse community partners, who make more than 50 swaps a year possible!

At Stop ‘N’ Swap, the public is invited to bring clean, portable, reusable items to share with those who can use them. No one is required to bring something to take something — you can simply show up with a bag and see what’s free for the taking. Clothing, books, housewares, electronics, and toys are just some of the offerings.  Recent memorable treasures include peanut butter and jelly pillowcases, pocket mouse, grass jelly, an amateur radio calendar, and plants potted just for fellow swappers (view photos).

Since 2008, more than 62,000 New Yorkers have attended a Stop ‘N’ Swap co-hosted by more than 135 different community partners and supported by over 1,200 volunteers.  In just 5 years, participants have kept more than half a million pounds of reusable items out of landfills. 

80% of products in the US are used once, then thrown away — find a Stop 'N' Swap near you and start reusing today!

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