Greenmarket is good for farms

Preserving Farmland. Greenmarket keeps local family farms in business. Over the past 50 years, close to a million acres of local farmland have been buried under cement and asphalt. The Hudson Valley is among the most threatened farm regions in the country. Together the farms that attend Greenmarket preserve over 30,000 acres of regional open space.
Strengthening Rural Economies. 80% of Greenmarket farmers report they would be out of business if it weren't for Greenmarket.

Greenmarket is good for city neighborhoods

Food Security. Nearby farms ensure food access in times of blackouts, fuel shortage, or other crises. Greenmarket works with city agencies to bring healthy eating to neighborhoods that lack fresh foods. Greenmarket participates in the NYS Farmers Market Nutrition Program, providing food to families at nutritional risk. In 2005, almost 250,000 such households redeemed vouchers worth $3 million for locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables at NYC farmers markets. Many markets have the technology to accept EBT food stamps and we are working hard to expand that access. Unsold produce feeds the hungry. In 2005, Greenmarket donated over 300,000 pounds of food to City Harvest.
Improving Neighborhood Economies. Greenmarket brings money to neighborhood businesses. In peak season, the Union Square Greenmarket draws 60,000 shoppers a day; in a recent survey, 82% cited Greenmarket as the primary reason for their visit, and 60% spent up to $50 in area businesses.
Creating Community & Urban Renewal. Greenmarket raises quality of life, brings neighbors together and revives public spaces. Markets have revitalized neighborhoods citywide. The dramatic transformation of Union Square from crime-ridden to bustling is but one example.
Education. Each year thousands of school children and other groups visit Greenmarket to taste fresh food and meet the people who grow it.

Sustainability. Greenmarket farmers use sustainable practices. Some are certified organic. All are personally invested in the health of the water, soil, and air quality on the farms where they live and raise families.
Clean Water. NYC's water comes from reservoirs northwest of the city where sustainable farms and open space help protect our water supply. More than a dozen Greenmarket farms are in NYC's Watershed.
Energy Conservation. Transporting food long distances uses tremendous energy: it takes 435 fossil-fuel calories to fly a 5 calorie strawberry from California to New York. Fossil fuels contribute to global warming, acid rain and smog. Local foods travel short distances and use dramatically less energy.
Biodiversity. Greenmarket farmers grow thousands of varieties of fruits and vegetables, including over 100 varieties each of apples and tomatoes. In contrast, industrial agribusiness cultivates high-yield hybrids bred for fast maturation and thick skins to withstand mechanical harvest and transport. Meanwhile heirloom produce and heritage-breed livestock are vanishing from fields and plates, drastically shrinking the gene pool for those foods; the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than 75% of agricultural genetic diversity was lost in the 20th century. Small, biodiverse farms preserve our food heritage.