Release Date: August 11, 2021

Bedford Hills, NY—Westchester Land Trust (WLT) has been awarded a $11,030 grant from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) as part of the Community Growers Grant Program. The funds will support WLT’s food pantry farm garden at its Sugar Hill Farm headquarters in Bedford Hills, as well as the organization’s food justice efforts.

“Food insecurity affects many people in our community and this grant will help support the work we’re doing to strengthen our local food systems,” said Kara Whelan, WLT’s vice president. “Providing fresh food to our neighbors, increasing access to agricultural lands for local farmers, and giving people hands-on experience in sustainable farming techniques are all a part of that work. But it doesn’t stop there; we’re dedicated to listening to our communities and identifying how we can best meet their needs.”

WLT has partnered with local food banks since 2012 to grow and distribute an average of 8,000 servings of fresh produce annually to local families in need in Westchester. The land trust currently works with the Community Center of Northern Westchester (CCNW) as its distribution partner and the farm garden is managed by Allison Turcan, founder of DIG Farm. WLT staff and a team of dedicated volunteers plant, weed, harvest, and package the food grown at Sugar Hill Farm, and deliver it to CCNW, which serves over 10,000 low income, food-insecure individuals a year, including over 3,000 children.

The grant will allow WLT to continue to expand the growing capacity of the gardens at Sugar Hill Farm to meet the increased need for produce, adapt to the pantry clients’ desire for greater food variety, and leverage existing farm infrastructure to reduce the cost per serving to produce. With an emphasis on food justice and sovereignty, WLT’s team works closely with CCNW to identify the crops and produce favored by the families receiving the food to ensure that those in need are part of the solution and the process of selecting the foods they prefer to cook and eat.

In addition to growing food, WLT emphasizes the importance of protecting farmland from the risk of development, with approximately 20 percent of the nearly 9,000 acres that WLT has preserved being agricultural lands. WLT works with local farmers and landowners to facilitate farmland match opportunities and is also exploring ways to put land into production for urban and non-traditional farms.

“We’re grateful to NYSDAM for recognizing the potential of Westchester Land Trust’s food pantry garden and food justice program,” said Whelan, “The work to create a stronger, more equitable food system for our community must be led by our community, and this grant will help ensure that happens.”