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Advocates urge council to restore Grow Boston funding after proposed cuts to urban-agriculture grants
Summary
Community gardeners and urban-farm advocates testified April 27 urging the council to reverse proposed FY27 cuts that would reduce Grow Boston grant funding by roughly $430,000 and curtail supply grants, education and ambassador programs that support thousands of gardeners and urban farms.
At the close of the April 27 Ways and Means hearing on the Mayor’s Office of Housing budget, multiple community speakers urged the City Council to restore reductions to Grow Boston and related urban-agriculture grant lines in the FY27 recommended budget.
Speakers from The Food Project, the Trustees’ Boston Community Gardens network, Recover Green Roofs, the Urban Farming Institute, We Grow Microgreens and the Boston Farms Community Land Trust described how Grow Boston grants fund raised garden beds, supplies, workshops, workforce stipends and rooftop and neighborhood farms that together support thousands of gardeners and provide fresh food to low-income neighborhoods.
Daniel Andrews of The Food Project and Annabelle Rubia of the Trustees’ Boston Community Gardens said program cuts would limit supply grants and the Urban Agriculture Ambassador program, which they described as a workforce and outreach mechanism that multiplies the city’s reach into neighborhoods. Mark Winter of Recover Green Roofs and Matthew Allison of the Urban Farming Institute highlighted therapeutic and medical benefits of urban farms and how rooftop and raised-bed programs connect patients and families to fresh food.
Joy Gary, executive director of Boston Farms Community Land Trust (testifying remotely), said Grow Boston, Office of Food Justice initiatives and community land-trust partnerships are investments in public health, training and food-system resilience; she asked the council to treat these allocations as long-term infrastructure rather than discretionary cuts.
Agency staff told the committee the recommended FY27 budget reduces Grow Boston grant funding by about $400,000 as part of a larger $1.3 million drop in contracted services; the office said some programs have prior-year funds or alternative sources (CDBG, philanthropy) that may blunt immediate reductions and that they will pursue external funding and philanthropic partnerships to supplement city dollars.
Advocates asked councilors to consider the multiplier effects of small grants—raised-bed kits, educational workshops and stipends—that enable large amounts of food production, local employment and community engagement. The hearing record shows the Grow Boston programs continue to win local support from councilors and neighborhood groups; staff said they will explore other funding sources and provide additional detail on grant distributions on request.
The committee did not vote on the budget at the hearing; councilors and staff ended the session by requesting follow-up materials and by pledging to review program-specific impacts.
