Council On The Environment Inc

Food access & agriculture, which operates 80 retail food access locations including greenmarkets, farmstands, and fresh food box sites. These locations provide more than 200 small, regional producers with the opportunity to sell their fruits, vegetables, and other farm products to new yorkers. All locations promote and accept snap and other nutrition incentives. The farmer assistance program provides technical assistance and training to experienced and beginning farmers to increase long-term viability.

Zero waste, which operates more than 50 food scrap drop-off sites throughout the city, coordinates textile collections, organizes stop 'n' swap community reuse events, and provides outreach and education to all new yorkers to increase participation in the city's zero waste programs and help conserve natural resources. Zero waste drop-off sites collected 2.2 million pounds of food scraps in 2023. The non-renewal of two major city contracts resulted in the full closure of zero waste programs as of june 30, 2024.

Education, which connects k-12 public school students to the natural world with an eye towards environmental justice. Students learn sustainable behaviors that last a lifetime through the school gardens program, zero waste schools program, experiential field trips to the teaching garden at governors island, greenmarket tours, and in-class curriculum. Additionally, professional development for teachers and easily accessible digital resources provide education for all ages. Young adults engage in summer workforce development internships, rotating through grownyc's programs to gain a deeper understanding of food systems and green careers. The non-renewal of two major city contracts resulted in the full closure of zero waste school programs as of june 30, 2024.

Green space, which creates, rejuvenates, and provides substantial material and technical assistance to several new community gardens each year in addition to helping more than 100 gardens created in prior years; builds rainwater harvesting systems and promotes best practices in green infrastructure through workshops and collaborative installations; and operates a substantial teaching garden on governors island.

Project farmhouse, which allows all new yorkers to explore environmental issues through the lens of food, horticulture, arts, recycling, cooking, and community education. Located at 76 east 13th street in manhattan, project farmhouse is a state-of-the-art sustainability and education center, and a home for dynamic programming.

New york state regional food hub, which will establish a wholesale food distribution hub to serve small- to mid-sized farms in new york state through the construction of a warehouse facility in the hunts point section of the bronx. The facility will include approximately 60,000 square feet of refrigerated/freezer and food processing space and will serve as a new home for the organization's extant wholesale distribution program in addition to other tenants. The total estimated project cost is $45 million including pre-construction soft costs, which commenced during fiscal year 2017. The formal ground-breaking occurred in march 2021. The facility is expected to begin operations in 2025.