Rally: Tuesday, April 5th • 12:00 Noon • Steps of City Hall
View/Download the Press Release (PDF)
Proposed Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Funding of New York City’s Community Gardens
In response, the New York City Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC) is leading a RALLY at City Hall and calling upon our elected officials to fight to save Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.
Joining NYCCGC will be many other community garden supporters, including: Black Urban Growers, Bronx Land Trust, Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust, Citizens Committee for New York City, Earth Matter NY, East New York Farms!, EcoStation:NY, Farming Concrete, Food Justice Project, Green Guerillas, Just Food, La Familia Verde Garden Coalition, Manhattan Land Trust, More Gardens!, and Project Harmony, Inc. Note: Your organization can join this list by contacting us!
Since 1978, GreenThumb has nurtured community gardening in New York City, assisting over 600 gardens and urban farms and their collective 20,000 members with material and technical assistance. GreenThumb is fully funded by the Federal HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program with a modest budget of around $800,000 in Fiscal Year 2011— less than half of 1% of New York City’s current $200 million allocation.
The US House of Representatives’ 2012 budget calls for the elimination of funding for the CDBG program for the remainder of FY 2011, and a 60% slash to overall CDBG funding — that could translate to the elimination of GreenThumb, or at least a devastating 60% cut to its funding! Community Gardens are important to new Yorkers, providing much needed green space to neighborhoods lacking in parkland. They promote environmental education, encourage local food production, nurture intergenerational and intercultural friendships, and help reduce crime by being the eyes and ears of our communities. As more and more people discover their benefits, it is absolutely imperative to protect and increase resources and funding for GreenThumb — the lifeblood of community gardening in New York City.
NYCCGC calls on government officials to guarantee the survival of the GreenThumb program:
- We demand that the Federal Government protect CDBG funding, not only for GreenThumb, but for all CDBG projects in new York City and across the nation;
- We strongly urge our City, State and Federal representatives to advocate for the protection of ALL CDBG funding;
- We call on the NYC Office of Management and Budget to make sure GreenThumb receives its full share of CDBG funds disbursed to new York City to maintain current operations;
- We encourage the City administration to take steps to use tax levy funds for GreenThumb operations to ensure a diversified funding stream.
Other Facts to Consider:
- GreenThumb receives less than half of 1% of NYC’s current $200 million Community Development Block Grant allocation.
- GreenThumb has been around for over 30 years. In all that time, the City of New York has not spent one dollar to pay for all the good work GreenThumb does.
- Community gardens have thrived in severely underserved, economically depressed neighborhoods which lack adequate parkland and have little access to fresh food.
- Farming Concrete, a community-based research project, found that the equivalent of over $1 million of fresh produce was grown in nYC community gardens in 2010 — providing healthy food for communities in need.
- Michelle Obama has elevated community gardening to a national conversation with an inspiring model on the White House lawn.
- The new US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines, for the first time ever, recommend gardening as a key activity “to heighten enjoyment of preparing and consuming healthy foods.”
- NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that “School gardens encourage more young new Yorkers to eat healthier diets and help them understand where their food comes from.”
- NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that “Teaching children about healthy eating and where our food comes from is just as valuable as teaching them how to read and write.”
Community gardens and urban farms are invaluable to new York City neighborhoods and every effort must be made to protect their long-term existence. Community gardeners must be invited to the table as we move toward finding the best solutions. Together, we’ll find a way to protect our gardens, not just for the foreseeable future, but for generations to come.
– NYCCGC
