The Buffalo Neighborhood Food Project builds on the past successes of Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo (GGB) and the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) in improving local food systems in the City of Buffalo. In the Buffalo Neighborhood Food Project, these organizations are partnering to achieve four goals:

1)      To meet the food needs of low income youth and families in Buffalo

2)      To advocate for policy in support of food systems development

3)      To increase the self-reliance of our community in providing for our own food needs

4)      To create a comprehensive and replicable school garden program

The Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab is partnering with these two organizations to evaluate the programs each organization has implemented to meet these four goals. This involves data collection on food cultivation outcomes at GGB’s 76 community gardens and five school gardens in the City of Buffalo, and at MAP’s urban farm on Buffalo’s West Side.

This project is funded through a competitive grant awarded to GGB and MAP by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture.

Project Lead: Jenny Whittaker