Senator Montgomery urges organizations to apply for $500,000 in available funding through the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets' Community Growers Grant Program

NYS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS ANNOUNCES $500,000 TO EXPAND COMMUNITY-BASED AGRICULTURE ACROSS THE STATE Projects Will Improve Access to Fresh, Wholesome Foods, Promote Community Engagement, and Enhance Agricultural Education Opportunities 

As a proud member of the New York State Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Montgomery urges community organizations to apply for the $500,000 available through the Community Growers Grant Program to develop and enhance community gardens, school gardens and urban farms across the state.

The NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets through its various divisions and programs, promotes New York agriculture and its high-quality, diverse products, fosters agricultural environmental stewardship, provides consumer protections, and safeguards the State’s food supply, land, plants and livestock to ensure the viability and growth of New York’s agriculture industries.

The Community Growers Grant Program was created as a strategy to improve food security by providing funding to ensure the viability and success of community growing spaces. Currently, there are more than 1,000 community, school and urban gardens throughout New York State. Many serve a critical need in communities with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Despite an increasing number of community growing spaces in both urban and rural areas, there remains a lack of available resources and capital to support these plots. While limited funding from not-for-profit organizations has helped meet basic needs, additional support is crucial to building capacity and infrastructure to meet the high demand for these locations statewide. The Community Grower grants will help address these needs by providing up to $25,000 per eligible project.

The funding is available through a competitive application process. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions and government entities. More information about this grant program, including the Request for Proposals, is available on the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets website at https://www.agriculture.ny.gov/RFPS.html For questions, contact Meg.McCabe@agriculture.ny.gov. All applications must be submitted through Grants Gateway.

The deadline to apply is May 21, 2018.