New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced that $500,000 is available to New York’s farmers’ markets through Part 1 of the fourth round of the Farmers’ Market Resiliency Grant Program. Grant funding will help farmers’ markets across the state to enhance local food system resiliency by improving market infrastructure, increasing marketing and promotion efforts, and adding delivery capability. Funding for the program was included in the New York State Budget and builds on Governor Kathy Hochul’s commitment to ensure a resilient food system in New York State. Round 3 program awards were announced earlier this year.
Commissioner Ball said, “The Farmers’ Market Resiliency Grant Program is a crucial component of New York’s ongoing effort to strengthen our food supply chain. We learned during the pandemic that we needed to have a reliable food system right here at home and I’m happy to see that we are making great progress towards that goal. Through three rounds of this program, we’ve seen some great progress on projects that are helping our farmers and producers reach more consumers. I encourage all eligible markets to apply for this great opportunity.”
The Farmers’ Market Resiliency Grant Program was created to enhance long-term food system resiliency through New York State’s farmers’ markets. New in Part 1 of this round, the program requires that awardees make sub-grants available to farmers’ markets and/or farmers’ market vendors within their region through an open application process. In the coming months, Part 2 of this funding opportunity will offer $200,000 in funding direct to eligible to farmers’ markets, without the sub-grant required in Part 1. This structure is intended to provide more opportunities to smaller markets, or those needing lower levels of financial assistance.
Grants ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 will be awarded to successful, eligible applicants who outline a plan to solicit and award grants to market locations. Those awardees may subaward projects that repair, replace, or enhance of market infrastructure; modernize product delivery; develop or scale up outreach efforts; and more. Eligibility criteria and more information on the program, including how to apply, can be found on the Department’s website. The deadline for applications is 3:00 pm on February 4, 2026. A webinar with program information will take place on December 11 at 12:30 pm. Learn more and register.
Source : ny.gov