Making NYC Urban Agriculture Products Safer
Many urban growers have questions about food safety requirements.
By Yolanda Gonzalez and Samuel Anderson
As part of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Harvest NY agricultural economic development team, urban agriculture specialist Yolanda Gonzelez provides one-on-one technical assistance to soil-based and controlled environment agriculture producers in New York City on GAP certification requirements and food safety plans.
R.J. Anderson / Cornell Cooperative Extension
Commercial urban farmers in New York City, similar to producers upstate, sell through an array of marketing outlets, from restaurants and grocery stores to farm stands and CSAs. Unlike their rural counterparts, commercial urban farmers rarely generate the sales that mandate them to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Despite being qualified exempt from FSMA, many urban growers have questions about food safety requirements for different marketing channels and in terms of general best practices.
Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Harvest New York Urban Agriculture Program has launched food safety programming in New York City. Initial work has focused on general food safety best practices and clarifying confusion around food safety rules, such as differences between buyer-imposed programs, especially GAP certification (Good Agricultural Practices), and government-enforced food safety regulations, such as FSMA.
Urban Agriculture Specialist Yolanda Gonzalez presented an “Urban Ag Food Safety” workshop for farmers-in-training in June at The Youth Farm in Brooklyn and in September at Kingsborough Community College Urban Farm. The training provided a practical guide to food safety for apprentices and interns working on urban farms.
Along with basic training, Yolanda has also provided one-on-one technical assistance to both soil-based and controlled environment agriculture producers on GAP certification requirements and food safety plans, as most producers do not have a written food safety plan. The ability to consult larger-scale farms on their options for obtaining food safety certifications leads to increase farm viability as it opens the door to selling produce directly to distributors and retail outlets, such as Whole Foods Market and the new Wegmans supermarket slated to open in Brooklyn next year.
Yolanda Gonzalez and Samuel Anderson are urban agriculture specialists with CCE’s Harvest NY agricultural economic development team. Yolanda can be contacted at yg88@cornell.edu. Samuel can be contacted at swa39@cornell.edu.
This is a great initiative! It’s so important that urban farmers have access to resources and guidance on food safety. I’m curious, what are some of the most common misconceptions or challenges you’ve encountered when working with NYC urban growers regarding GAP certification?
Also, beyond workshops, are there plans for more hands-on support, like site visits or assistance with developing tailored food safety plans?
Food safety can feel daunting, so personalized help can be incredibly valuable. Are there any plans for future blog posts digging into specific food safety topics that urban farmers are most concerned about? Perhaps a deep dive into best practices for washing and handling specific crops common in urban settings?
I’m curious, what are some of the most common food safety questions you’re hearing from NYC urban growers? Are they mainly concerned about soil contamination, or is it more about proper washing and handling of produce after harvest?
Also, GAP certification seems like a really important thing to learn about. I see many small farmers are confused.
Will there be any future workshops that can delve deeper into that topic, maybe with specific examples or case studies?
It’s great to see initiatives like Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Harvest New York Urban Agriculture Program addressing food safety in NYC urban farms! I was just reading about GAP certification requirements and best practices, and it’s crucial for these growers to have access to resources like this. Speaking of resources, have you checked out driff boss? It could be helpful for urban farmers as well!
If you’re an urban farmer in NYC, I highly recommend checking out the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s resources on food safety. You can find more info on their website here, but specifically, I found their workshop on ‘Urban Ag Food Safety’ to be super helpful. I learned so much about GAP certification and best practices for selling to restaurants and grocery stores!