GrowNYC

Background and History

GrowNYC traces its origins to 1970, when it was established as the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) within the Mayor’s Office, spurred by the first Earth Day and the growing environmentalist movement. Founder Marian S. Heiskell, a philanthropist and civic leader, drove the group’s creation with a vision for cleaner public spaces and recycling programs, securing initial funding from city resources and private donors. Early efforts focused on policy reports and community mobilization, evolving by the 1970s into hands-on initiatives like the Greenmarket farmers’ markets, launched in 1976 by urban planners Barry Benepe and Bob Lewis with seed grants from the Fund for the City of New York, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the Vincent Astor Foundation. The group rebranded to GrowNYC in 2010 to reflect a broader emphasis on urban farming and education, shifting from policy analysis to direct service programs. ^{4 5}

Activities

GrowNYC coordinates over 50 Greenmarket farmers’ markets and farm stands across New York City, facilitating sales of local produce and redeeming more than $4.3 million annually in SNAP benefits accepted at its markets. The organization supports urban agriculture through its Food Hub, which aggregates and distributes regional farm products to institutions, and the Fresh Food Box Program, which offers produce boxes in underserved neighborhoods. ⁶

In waste management, GrowNYC runs community composting sites and a city-wide school recycling program. Education initiatives report engagement of 70,000 participants yearly via school gardens, Green Teams for youth-led sustainability campaigns, and adult workshops on “zero-waste practices.” ^{7 8}

In June 2025, GrowNYC opened the New York State Regional Food Hub in the Bronx, a 60,000-square-foot cold-storage facility funded with $19 million from the State of New York. ⁹

Policy Stances

GrowNYC began as a “policy-based organization, writing comprehensive reports about quality of life issues like air quality, traffic, and noise,” and has shifted towards programs and services since 2010. ^{10 11}

The group has long promoted the expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly Food Stamps, so benefits may be used at farmers’ markets. The group has received funding from various New York state agencies to expand SNAP acceptance, particularly during the transition from paper stamps to electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards.

Funding

GrowNYC relies on a mix of government contracts, foundation grants, and individual donations for operations. In fiscal year 2023, contributions and grants comprised about 60 percent of revenue, with major funders including the New York City Department of Sanitation, the New York State Health Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Clif Bar Family Foundation, the Novo Foundation, and the M.S. Heiskell Foundation. ¹²

Funding for the group’s farmer assistance training program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was frozen in early 2025 among grant freezes and reviews conducted by the second Trump administration. ¹³