![\"Participants](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REC_UrbanFarm.jpeg\")
Credit: Farm School NYC<\/p>\n Credit: Farm School NYC<\/p>\n
On a humid Friday evening in early September, staff at Farm School New York City (FSNYC<\/a>), an urban agriculture education organization, called an emergency town hall to share a critical update. They were at risk of closing\u2014as early as the end of the year\u2014 and were starting an emergency fundraiser with a $250,000 goal. FSNYC staff shared that federal funding cuts had further deepened their funding gap and put their work with various community partners in jeopardy.<\/p>\n FSNYC <\/a>equips NYC-based residents with the tools, training, and support needed to practice sustainable agriculture and advance food sovereignty, food justice, and liberation. It is one of the few urban agriculture education spaces that has a sliding-scale tuition model, making it accessible to everyone. With proper funding, organizations like FSNYC equip learner farmers and land stewards with the knowledge to build sustainable businesses, forge food justice movements, and rebuild relationships with the land. If FSNYC is forced to further reduce capacity or permanently close, what historical, cultural, and institutional knowledge will New York City lose?<\/p>\n An Uncertain 2025<\/p>\n This year has been full of questions and meetings for the organization\u2019s staff, board, and alumni network. \u201cAt the same time, we are trying to figure out what will happen with our jobs and our programs,\u201d said Frances P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez, the program coordinator for FSNYC, in an interview with NPQ.<\/p>\n If FSNYC is forced to further reduce capacity or permanently close, what historical, cultural, and institutional knowledge will New York City lose?<\/p>\n In 2024, FSNYC applied to several federal programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including the USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grant program<\/a>, Farm Service Agency Grants and Cooperative Agreements<\/a>, and the Thriving Communities Grantmaker Program<\/a>, among other opportunities. Its largest federal grant is part of a 27-organization cooperative agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had organizations giving microgrants out to farmers, uncertain if they would get that money back and when,\u201d said Dyaami D\u2019Orazio, FSNYC\u2019s programs director, in an interview with NPQ.<\/p>\n Once the Trump administration transitioned in early January, FSNYC\u2019s grant awards kept getting delayed and were eventually frozen. This put the organization in immediate limbo between January and May. During that time, D\u2019Orazio said, \u201cwe were planning our programs and starting to sound the alarm about whether Farm School was going to be able to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n In analyzing their cash flow, staff worried that the organization might have to close as early as August. By early spring, FSNYC had to lay off three staff members, and reduce hours for some of the remaining staff. Fueled by a strong desire not to disrupt programming, FSNYC leaders successfully petitioned the federal government to apply for reimbursements. But while they were able to recover some funds, they are nowhere near being in the clear.<\/p>\n \u201cOur cash flow is still uncertain, and we [still] have a pretty big gap,\u201d D\u2019Orazio said.<\/p>\n FSNYC has been operating at a deficit for some time, still striving to provide good pay and benefits for its staff. Despite these challenges, the organization has been able to maintain relationships and tap into its network.<\/p>\n The Way Forward<\/p>\n The current gap in FSNYC\u2019s funding is $500,000\u2014the amount needed to get them somewhat comfortably into 2026, keeping staff at full capacity with benefits. Most recently, FSNYC received a one-time $100,000 emergency grant, but that is just enough to close the gap for the rest of 2025. The organization\u2019s fundraising campaign remains open<\/a> for support.<\/p>\n At the emergency town hall, attendees discussed options for the organization\u2019s future that included a possible merger and implementing a subscription model for FSNYC\u2019s offerings.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are shocked, worried, and activated to help in ways that they can,\u201d P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for our free newsletters<\/p>\n Subscribe to NPQ’s newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.<\/p>\n One critical part of FSNYC\u2019s ethos is being part of the Black Farmer Ecosystem<\/a>, a collective working to shift power and ownership to Black farmers in New York through advocacy, policy, and capital. The Ecosystem includes FSNYC, Soul Fire Farm Institute<\/a>, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust<\/a>, Black Farmers United-NYS<\/a>, Corbin Hill Food Project<\/a>, and Black Farmer Fund<\/a>. P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez explained that the ecosystem is figuring out how they can better align to further fortify the network.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most powerful part of Farm School is that we are helping people understand the reality of what it takes to get food on someone\u2019s table.\u201d<\/p>\n Within the US context, farming has always been political for land stewards and farmers of color. \u201cWe teach urban agriculture but also have a social justice focus,\u201d said Cris Izaguirre, a farmer, cultural worker and facilitator at FSNYC.<\/p>\n While American agriculture has actively sought to erase the knowledge and contributions of Black and Indigenous farmers, the organization makes a point to work in partnership with many queer, trans, and BIPOC growers managing farms and gardens across the city and state.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wants Farm School to close,\u201d Izaguirre said. \u201cOftentimes we don\u2019t always see the long-term impact of our work, but seeing alumni out in the field, and applying the resources and skills that they learned during their time at Farm School makes it all worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n Existing in the Current Moment<\/p>\n When asked whether FSNYC would apply for government funding again, P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez emphasized that \u201cnothing that the government creates is for the benefit of QTBIPOC people.\u201d<\/p>\n The US government, they explained, particularly under the current administration, is actively working to oppress and exploit the bodies and labor of QTBIPOC people.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the framework that most people at Farm School are coming to the work with,\u201d P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez said.<\/p>\n The Farm School community has urged the organization to stop relying on government funds because of how quickly it can be taken away. \u201cIt is hard to keep asking our oppressor for this when it is owed to us,\u201d said P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n At the same time, the organization is wrestling with the fact that in the past it was able to leverage government funds to expand its work. The next phase for FSNYC, as for many nonprofits across the sector, is determining how to depend on its network with more creative streams of revenue.<\/p>\n