New York State Agriculture Commissioner Announces $700,000 Awarded to Farmers' Markets Across the State

Friday, March 10, 2023

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced that $700,000 has been awarded to 11 farmers’ market organizations across the state through the Farmers’ Market Resiliency Grant Program. Funding for the program was included in the FY 2023 Enacted Budget and is a part of Governor Hochul’s 2023 State of the State commitment to New York’s agricultural industry and to increase the resiliency of the state’s food supply chain following COVID-19.

Commissioner Ball said, “One of the biggest lessons that we learned from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of having a strong, flexible, and streamlined local food supply chain, and one of the greatest tools we have for getting farm-fresh food directly into our communities are farmers’ markets. The Farmers’ Market Resiliency Grant Program provides farmers’ markets with funding that will help them reach more consumers in new, innovative ways, build greater bonds between farmers and their customers, and get more local New York foods onto tables across the state.”

Funding was awarded to 11 farmers’ market organizations across the state to strengthen their markets and make local food more available to consumers by establishing online sales, improving infrastructure, and expanding marketing and outreach efforts. The awarded recipients include:

Gardenshare, Inc., to consolidate seven of St. Lawrence County’s farmers’ markets (North Country); North East Community Center, to expand Millerton Farmers’ Market Infrastructure (Mid-Hudson); Council on the Environment, for the Grow NYC Greenmarket Resiliency Project (New York City); CCE Sullivan County, for the Sullivan Catskills Farmers’ Markets (Southern Tier); CCE Broome County, to create a shared online platform for all Broome County farmers’ markets (Southern Tier); City of Dunkirk, to construct a permanent pavilion structure for the Dunkirk Farmers’ Market (Western New York); Downtown Committee of Syracuse, for the Downtown Syracuse Farmers’ Market (Central New York); Finger Lakes Community Action, for the Lyons Farmers’ Market Resiliency Program (Finger Lakes); Common Ground Farm, for the Newburgh Farmers’ Market (Mid-Hudson); Buffalo Place, Inc., for the Downtown Buffalo Country Market Data Collection Project (Western New York); and Harvest Home Farmers’ Markets, to increase outreach and marketing (New York City).

Source: agriculture.ny.gov