Eco Anchor NYC NYC environmental news, events and resources
GrowNYC is a hands-on non-profit which improves New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities block by block and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for future generations.
For 40 years, GrowNYC has been rolling up its sleeves alongside NYC residents to:
- Provide access to healthy, fresh, local food for all New Yorkers
- Grow and maintain vibrant green spaces and community gardens.
- Help New Yorkers recycle more and reduce waste.
- Create the next generation of environmental leaders through hands-on education programs.
GrowNYC programs include:
Recycling services and drop-off sites
A healthy environment starts with healthy citizens. That’s why GrowNYC has a number of initiatives that center on improving the health and nutrition of all New Yorkers.
GrowNYC has been increasing food access for New Yorkers for more than 30 years. In that time, we’ve been responding to the needs of diverse communities and ramping up our efforts to ensure that affordable, healthy, fresh food gets into the hands that need it most across the city.
Greenmarket operates 53 farmers markets throughout the five boroughs with a mission to promote regional agriculture by providing small family farms the opportunity to sell their locally grown products directly to consumers, and to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the freshest, most nutritious locally grown food the region has to offer.
More markets than ever accept EBT (Food Stamps) and Credit Cards! At these Greenmarket locations customers can swipe their EBT or Credit Card at the Greenmarket Info Table in exchange for market tokens, then shop at the farmers stands with the tokens
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
The New York City Wholesale Greenmarket offers over 100 local and regional farm-fresh products including fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants, and flowers at competitive wholesale prices and quantities. The Wholesale Greenmarket facilitates sales between wholesale buyers such as small grocers, institutions, restaurants, and distributors and small and medium sized growers from New York and adjacent states.
YUM Fresh Food is a group buying program aimed at increasing access to affordable, quality produce in the Washington Heights community. A partnership between GrowNYC and Isabella Geriatric Center, YUM also seeks to create opportunities for senior citizens to actively address issues of food access.
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.
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.
Founded by Liz Christy in 1975, OSG has created or rejuvenated over 60 community gardens across New York City, and continues to work with schools, public housing associations, and community groups to transform vacant land into vibrant civic spaces where neighborhoods can get together to grow vegetables, plant flowers, and meet each other.
Each May since 1986, GrowNYC partners with local growers to offer pots and flats of vegetables, herbs, heirlooms, and bedding plants to neighborhood greening groups at wholesale prices. Held at Hattie Carthan Community Garden in Bed-Stuy and Wishing Well Community Garden in the Bronx, the 2011 plant sale distributed over $60,000 in plants to more than 250 community gardens, schools, block associations, churches, and more!
Learn it, Grow it, Eat It is a hands-on education program which empowers teens to take control of their health and to help others do so through: hands-on gardening, nutrition education, outreach, and managing a community farm-stand. The program is aimed at improving the health ofyoung people through nutrition education and improved food access in their schools and community.
Grow to Learn NYC: Citywide School Gardens Initiative
Grow to Learn NYC: The Citywide School Gardens Initiative was established in 2010 as a public-private partnership between GrowNYC, the Mayor’s Fund, and several government agency partners. Grow to Learn NYC and our interactive website growtolearn.org are a one stop resource for any public school looking to build, sustain, and program a school garden.
Greenmarket Youth Education Project
The Greenmarket Youth Education Project connects thousands of New York City school children in grades K-12 with Greenmarkets and our farmers and chefs each year. Through fun, interactive learning experiences like school tours at market, farmer classroom visits, cooking classes and farm field trips, we help children gain an understanding of local agriculture and the importance of eating fresh, seasonal foods–for their bodies, their environment and their communities.
New Farmer Development Project
The New Farmer Development Project (NFDP) identifies, educates, and supports immigrants with agricultural experience by helping them become local farmers and establish small farms in the region. By training the next generation of regional farmers, the NFDP helps preserve local farmland and rural farm communities, strengthen farmers markets and regional food security, and expand public access to high-quality, locally-grown farm products.
To learn more please visit: GrowNYC’s Website