A woman tallies pedestrians and cyclists as part of the annual counts.

The Health and Wellness Department of the City of Kingston measures how many people are walking and bicycling in two ways. An annual, in-person, paper count and two permanently installed infrared counters. We collect this data to determine trends, understand the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, and for grant applications. 

The annual counts are usually conducted in the third week of September. Pre-selected locations are counted for two hours on Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 pm, and on Saturday from 12-2 pm. A volunteer tallies every time a person crosses the street or rides through the intersection. The count is based on the methodology developed by the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project. 

The counts are conducted by volunteers from the Complete Streets Advisory Council (CSAC) and other groups, but additional volunteers are always needed! We provide training and count forms for volunteers. Email Emily to find out more or sign up to help! 

The infrared counters are located at locations on the Greenline network of trails. The counters use infrared light to detect movement past their sensors. These are recorded and downloaded regularly. No personal information or photos are taken. 

“Play is the brain’s favorite way of learning”
~ poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman

I am a member of the Play Well Focus Group. It is a group of volunteers and City of Kingston staff who think about play and access to public spaces. Imagine that! This message is to announce that the Play Well Focus Group is conducting a parks assessment survey.

In preparation for this project, I volunteered to gauge the City of Kingston’s Parks and Recreation Department’s likely reception to an assessment of the parks. I did it by watching three past meetings of Kingston’s Parks and Recreation Commission on YouTube and by reading sections of the 2013 City of Kingston Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

I already knew that Kingston has 14 parks, a pool, a nature center, basketball courts, walking and biking trails, a beach, and a stadium. But I learned, almost as importantly, that we have a Parks and Recreation Department and Recreation Commission. Thankfully, they were receptive when we presented our plan to the Commission, and then we started the assessment at Block Park, followed by Cornell and Hutton.

We’re conducting our survey on paper in groups of twos and threes. It has questions under eight categories: accessibility, amenities, habitat, water, plants, trails, nature play, and culture. There’s also a place on the survey for improvement suggestions. Our goal is to identify what can be improved and then decide on at least one project to advance. In addition, our assessment could be used for the Parks and Recreation Department to make improvements when they have the capacity and it may support a future update to the Parks Master Plan.

Our Parks Assessments has led to interesting conversations. They include lofty goals and wish lists, which are often correctly tempered by saner minds in our group who point to safety and budget considerations. For example, when we were assessing Hutton Park, we discussed its boulders and whether they are an opportunity for play. “Yes,” I said emphatically! “No,” said someone else concerned with liability. This shows how differently people can interpret how spaces can be used and how complicated it can be to create rules in public spaces.

We have conversations about trees, about the definition of “Natural Play,” about surfaces that would perhaps be better served by native plants and flowers rather than grass. We have conversations about playing with water and about play equipment made from natural resources as opposed to plastic.

We’d like you to join us. We’d like your thoughts on play. Imagine that!

If you are interested, visit our events page to find out when the next Play Well meeting will be or email our coordinator, Emily at eflynn@kingston-ny.gov.

Arlene Puentes, Kingston, NY

Message from the Director

Emily Flynn, the Director of Health and Wellness for the City of Kingston.

Live Well Kingston is in a dynamic place in its 13th year*. We just went through a strategic reflection exercise that has clarified our mission, vision, and goals and we are as motivated as ever to create a community where everyone has access to local and nourishing foods, safe active transportation systems, welcoming public spaces, and community connection.

We conduct this work through subcommittees known as focus teams. There are five active groups: Age Well, Eat Well, Grow Well, Play Well, and Travel Well. With clarified goals, each group will be working on strategies to increase access to healthy options.

We are gaining momentum with engaged and committed Commissioners. We will be testing out a new structure in 2026. Each Commissioner will lead a specific role. Five of the seats will be connected to the subcommittees, which we refer to as focus teams. Six of the seats will play specific board roles, including chair, vice-chair, secretary, assessment, engagement, and development. With this new structure, our hope is that members will provide leadership and guidance with a specific need in mind.

We have seen some staffing changes in the last few years and it’s with joy that we wish Marsha Sebro and Kristin Kessler success on their journeys with other organizations.

We have accomplished a variety of projects in the past few years and are laying the foundation for new projects. Continue reading to learn more about all that we have accomplished in 2025 and a bit of preview of our plans for 2026.

*The Live Well Kingston Coalition started in June 2013 and was led by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. It became a City Commission in February of 2017.

Our Team

The Live Well Kingston Commission is an advisory board to the City of Kingston’s Mayor and Common Council. In addition, the Commission advances its goals with subcommittees called focus teams. Almost everyone that supports this work is volunteering their time or able to use their paid work to collaborate. The Department of Health and Wellness coordinates the program. We wouldn’t be able to do this work without you all and we are deeply thankful.

2025 Achievements

Live Well Kingston Commission

The Live Well Kingston Commission completed a strategic reflection that revised the mission, vision, and goals. We envision a city where everyone has access to local and nourishing foods, safe active transportation systems, welcoming public spaces, and community connection. We do this by bringing partners and residents together in focus teams to facilitate programming, communications, policy and systems changes that increase access to healthy opportunities.

In addition to these specialized conversations, the Commission reviewed health data and communications and signed 10 letters of support or advocacy in 2025.

In 2026 we hope to update the rules of procedure, improve our welcoming process, and increase our communications.

AGE WELL

Age Well focused on recruiting volunteers for the Office for Aging transportation programs Neighbor to Neighbor Program and Go Go Grandparent at 17 community events! Next year, we’re going to work on increasing communications about healthy opportunities.

Meeting Times

Every other month, Third Tuesdays, 2pm

EAT WELL

Eat Well had a fantastic year thanks to leadership from Ninette Warner and Kristin Kessler. The Kingston Eats and Kingston Cooks programs continued with the Harvest of the Month awareness campaign and six cooking workshops. Three presentations about school nutrition, Hudson Valley farming, and the Hudson Valley Social Care Network were hosted. Those recordings can be viewed here. Kristin authored two food policy newsletters and created a resource hub. In addition, the Food Systems Plan wrapped up. We’ll use this plan to inspire work for 2025.

GROW WELL

Grow Well supports community garden stewards with meetings and supportive projects. They met 19 times at nine different gardens and via Zoom in 2025. They hosted the third annual garden tour, delivered compost, fixed a garden fence, hosted a co-meeting and cooking workshop with Eat Well, tabled at the Earth Fair, and Cindy hosted a seedling workshop at the Library. See the Grow Well Garden map here!

Meeting Times

Met first Tuesdays and third Mondays during the 2025 growing season. This may change in 2026.

PLAY WELL

Play Well increased access to parks and nature by meeting 8 times, working with Trust Up to create a list of physical activity opportunities and reviewing their “The Alternatives” app, supported the Nature Everywhere project hosted by Wild Earth, and supported a tree tour with the Urban Forestry Department. The Health and Wellness Department finished managing the construction of the new Post Office Park and held a ribbon cutting on June 27th. In 2026, Play Well will be conducting a survey of nature access in Kingston parks and facilities.

Meeting Times

Fourth Fridays, 11am

TRAVEL WELL

A bicycle rack installed on Hurley Ave.

Although Travel Well only met once in 2025, lots of great work increased access to walking and bicycling. The Kingston Parks and Recreation Department led seven Thursday evening community bicycle rides and installed 15 bicycle racks in 2025 (38 total for the program started in 2023). The Complete Streets Advisory Council met 12 times. The Health and Wellness Department co-led, with the Ulster County Planning Department, the Greenline Leadership Team and is developing a trail stewardship program. Thanks to NYSERDA, a Clean Mobility Plan was created that envisioned how a rentable bicycle system could be implemented in Kingston and a demonstration grant was applied for. In addition, a request for proposals for a sidewalk funding plan was published. Much of this work will continue in 2026!

Meeting Times

No standing meeting at this time

Meghan L. Weygant, MBA, Chief Operating Officer, Hudson Valley Care Coalition

In October, Eat Well Kingston welcomed Meghan L. Weygant, MBA, Chief Operating Officer, Hudson Valley Care Coalition to tell us about the Hudson Valley Social Care Network. The network can be a referral system for folks to access resources. Community-based organizations can be reimbursed for enrolling people who qualify for Medicaid.

About the Eat Well Focus Team

The purpose of the Eat Well Focus Team is to develop, implement and/or support policy, systems and environmental change by supporting and promoting local efforts to improve access to healthy foods throughout the community. We coordinate with gardening/urban agriculture efforts and organizations addressing food insecurity and healthy eating in Kingston.

Our partners include farmers, chefs, teachers, artists, nutrition educators, dietitians, parents, non-profit and for-profit organizations, communicators, systems changers, volunteer organizations, private businesses, health practitioners, nurses, doctors and most importantly: YOU.

Visit https://livewellkingston.org/focus-teams/eat-well/ for more information.

Issue 5: June 2025

Hello! Welcome to the fifth edition of Kingston’s Food Policy Bites! This edition will be a little unique. Typically the structure of each Food Policy Bites provides a narrative that asks a thought-provoking question through which to learn about a specific food policy topic, including a bit of history and technical details followed by application to Kingston, before answering the question with a Food Policy Takeaway.

However, with so much happening so quickly in the food policy world, this time we wanted to provide you with the tools, platforms, and other resources to understand all topics related to food policy in our ever-changing food system right now. We’ll summarize a few of the tools, applying some of their recent updates to topics that hit home in Kingston to keep that local connection you like. Scroll down to learn about the following resources:

• Civil Eats Food Policy Tracker
• Food Fix
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Healthy Food Policy Project
• Even More Policy Trackers & Resources

Find it here: https://civileats.com/food-policy-tracker/

About Civil Eats: Civil Eats is an independent, award-winning news site that covers the American food system, including topics of intersectionality of food and other significant social and political issues.

About the Food Policy Tracker: Launched in 2025, this tracker lets you search for posts related to actions taken by the president, federal agencies, and Congress that directly relate to or have significant implications for the food system. Tags include words and phrases like Nutrition, Farmers, Local Food, School Food, and more.

Civil Eats is one of the best news sources for food systems-related news. They post frequently, sometimes daily, about a wide variety of food topics.

So What About Kingston?

As a small city nestled in a rich agricultural region, many if not most of these stories can connect to life in Kingston. For example:

June 12, 2025- Senate Ag Committee Proposes Significant, but Smaller, Cuts to SNAP

This article summarizes the Senate Agriculture Committee’s proposed text for the federal budget reconciliation bill, which would impact Kingston starting October 1, 2025. The Senate’s plan cuts $209 million from SNAP. For a connection to home, one in 10 households use SNAP in Ulster County, and in some neighborhoods in Kingston that can go up to one in 4 (read this previous Food Policy Bite for more information on SNAP).

It also eliminates funding for SNAP-Ed. SNAP-Ed in Kingston funds free community and school nutrition education, and is one of the funding sources for the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) grant. For more information on SNAP-Ed, here is a link to a statewide impact report and here is the CHSC Year 3 Impact Report.

The Senate’s bill also increases spending on farm bill programs including commodity payments, crop insurance, and conservation programs, although strips the funding of its original designation for climate-smart practices.

Find it here: https://foodfix.co/

About Food Fix: Food Fix is a weekly newsletter from award-winning reporter Helena Bottemiller Evich, who previously led food and agriculture issues at POLITICO for nearly a decade. Helena both reports on food-related news happening in Washington DC, as well as provides contextual groundsetting, commentary, and analysis based upon her 16 years of experience in covering the topics. She works to make it both informative for professionals as well as approachable for consumers.

So What About Kingston?

The most recent newsletter shared was also about the Senate’s cuts to SNAP. This dives into where the cuts will be coming from, such as increasing work requirements, which studies have shown are not effective in increasing adults actually working as they do not address the underlying barriers to obtaining livable wage jobs, and shifting cost shares to states, and how that will impact tough decisions states will have to make regarding their budgets in the future. At the end, she provides her analysis of the situation, including some historical context that led to the situation, and what might happen going forward.

Another recent issue, MAHA commission report under fire over fake citations, reports on fake studies that were referenced in the Make America Healthy Again report that was recently released. This report is relevant to Kingston as it could have big implications on federal nutrition standards and priorities that govern things like school meals and food pantry nutrition programs; or not, considering the reduction in funding for programs that support nutrition education and access to nutritious foods. Again, Food Fix has a detailed analysis on that.

Find it here: https://www.cbpp.org/newsletter/signup/update

About Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a “nonpartisan research and policy institute that advances federal and state policies to help build a nation where everyone — regardless of income, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ZIP code, immigration status, or disability status — has the resources they need to thrive and share in the nation’s prosperity.”

They cover numerous topics, some directly related to food, like food assistance, and some more tangentially but still importantly related, such as immigration and the economy. In addition to having a virtual newsletter, they also have a series called “Policy Basics” which gives a brief background on topics like the federal budget, taxes, and government assistance programs.

So What About Kingston?

CBPP differs from the others in that it reports on budgets and taxes overall, not just those exclusively related to food.

For example, their most recent newsletter covers the impact of the House-passed reconciliation bill on health care coverage for Americans. Millions of people would lose their health insurance coverage because of proposed cuts to Medicaid and changes to the Affordable Care Act, which means they would lose both preventative care as well as care for life-threatening conditions and chronic diseases.

Medicaid provides health care coverage for low-income children, families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities, including many here in Kingston.

Find it here: https://healthyfoodpolicyproject.org/

About Healthy Food Policy Project: Healthy Food Policy Project is a collaboration of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School (CAFS), the Public Health Law Center (PHLC), and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut, funded by the National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It is not a real-time tracker of changing local, state, and federal policies. Instead, it is can be viewed more as a food policy resource and database. There are 605 coded laws catalogued in its Policy Database, along with food systems frameworks and case studies to help those who want to get food systems projects started, but aren’t interested in starting from scratch.

So What About Kingston?

The database has been a wealth of information in doing research for both these Food Policy Bites, as well as informing strategies and tactics highlighted in the upcoming Food Systems Plan.

A Note on the Food Systems Plan: After a strategic pause to reflect and make updates, followed by some unavoidable delays, the Food Systems Plan is back on track! It is currently with a graphic designer for a beautification pass that will also increase its inclusivity and intuitiveness through design. A public comment period to come later this year, exact timing TBA. Follow along at https://engagekingston.com/food-system-plan for more updates.

Even More Policy Trackers & Resources

Learning about and keeping up with food policy can be messy and confusing, but it’s critical for understanding the food system. It’s important to find a variety of trusted, reputable sources to help you hone in on the important facts and messaging while you drown out the noise.

If you have a favorite policy tracker not listed here, please let us know and we’ll add it to our list!

For more information on food & nutrition projects at the City of Kingston, reach out to Kristin Kessler, RDN, CDN, RYT at kkessler@kingston-ny.gov

If you want to receive future Food Policy Bites in your inbox, Sign Up Here.

An Eat Well Kingston Presentation

In June 2025, Eat Well Kingston welcomed Kathryn Brignac, Livestock & Natural Resources Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, who presented on what the 2022 Census of Agriculture tells us about Ulster County farms, emerging trends and opportunities​ in agriculture locally, current challenges farms are facing and how to eat farm fresh and support local farms.

Click here for Kathryn’s slides

About the Eat Well Focus Team

The purpose of the Eat Well Focus Team is to develop, implement and/or support policy, systems and environmental change by supporting and promoting local efforts to improve access to healthy foods throughout the community. We coordinate with gardening/urban agriculture efforts and organizations addressing food insecurity and healthy eating in Kingston.

Our partners include farmers, chefs, teachers, artists, nutrition educators, dietitians, parents, non-profit and for-profit organizations, communicators, systems changers, volunteer organizations, private businesses, health practitioners, nurses, doctors and most importantly: YOU.

Visit https://livewellkingston.org/focus-teams/eat-well/ for more information.

Breathing New Life into a Historic Corner

Post Office Park is taking shape on a site once home to the former Kingston Post Office, and while the building itself is gone, its legacy will live on. The park’s design incorporates concrete elements that reference the architecture and significance of the original post office. Future designs could include a welcoming arch and benches that take inspiration directly from the building’s facade, recreating the Post Office steps and arches. The community also asked for a fountain on the Millard Building side. Recognizing the many cultures and ancestries that have enriched Kingston’s history, the park design intends to honor those who came before us and their descendants.

Designed with Purpose and People in Mind

From the ground up, Post Office Park is being built to invite connection, relaxation, and exploration. The park featured new sidewalks and meandering paths that welcome pedestrians and cyclists alike, encouraging movement and accessibility for all.

The landscape brings nature into the urban setting with the planting of carefully selected native trees, shrubs, and perennials. A pine tree, circled by bluestone, represents the Tree of Peace, a high significance for the Native Americans. The Broadway corridor has been a path for traveling since before Europeans set foot on the soil.

An interpretive sign briefly tells the story of the former Kingston Post Office and its importance to the local community.

Game tables have been installed for chess, checkers, and other community favorites, promoting informal socializing and multigenerational engagement.

Benches throughout the park will offer comfortable spots to pause, meet friends, and enjoy a coffee or hot dog.

For those arriving on two wheels, bicycle racks will make the park a convenient and safe stop along the Greenline system of trails and complete streets.

A Park for Everyone

Post Office Park is more than a beautification project—it’s a community investment. By integrating elements that reflect the area’s history and meet the needs of today’s residents, Kingston is creating a welcoming space that fosters civic pride, encourages outdoor activity, and enhances the city’s walkability.

As construction continues, residents and visitors alike can look forward to enjoying this thoughtfully crafted green space. Whether you’re playing a game, learning a bit of local history, or simply soaking in the scenery, Post Office Park promises to be a new favorite destination in Kingston.

Investing in Health and Community Through Strategic Funding

The development of Post Office Park has been made possible through a combination of strategic planning and public investment. The initial vision and planning for the park were supported by funding from the New York State Department of Health’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) program, which aims to foster healthier, more active communities through improved access to physical activity and nutritious food. The construction phase was funded through a blend of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) resources, reflecting a strong commitment to community revitalization and equitable access to public spaces.

Stay tuned for updates and opening announcements as this exciting project nears completion!

The Kingston Greenline is more than just a rail trail. It’s a citywide network of multi-use paths, linear parks, and complete streets that connect our neighborhoods, schools, business districts, and historic sites. It’s where Kingston walks, bikes, runs, and commutes.

Now that the Greenline is almost a complete system, The City of Kingston and Ulster County have reactivated the committee that supports its vision, ensures its sustainability, and brings people together around a shared love of our urban trail system.

The Greenline has become a defining feature of Kingston – but trails don’t maintain themselves, and growth doesn’t happen by accident. The restarted Leadership Committee is focusing on:

• Monitoring trail maintenance and improvements
• Advocating for funding and infrastructure investments
• Supporting community events and volunteer days
• Promoting equity, safety, and accessibility
• Building partnerships with local organizations, businesses, and city departments

Email Emily to find out more about the Kingston Greenline, what is happening, and how to get involved.

Issue 4: March 2025

Welcome to the fourth edition of Kingston’s Food Policy Bites! After a successful 3 month pilot in the last quarter of 2024, we’re back with quarterly editions in 2025.

The City of Kingston’s Department of Health and Wellness is tasked with facilitating policy, systems, and environmental change to benefit the people of Kingston. We know that effective policy is built on transparency and consensus — but also know that policy can be complicated and hard to read. To that end, we want to make the world of food policy more accessible and relevant to our city. That’s why we’ve created Kingston’s Food Policy Bites.

This month we’re asking the question “Does urban agriculture reduce food insecurity?” But first, we need to talk about what urban agriculture is and what it looks like in Kingston.

A Primer on Urban Agriculture

The USDA defines urban agriculture as “the cultivation, processing, and distribution of agricultural products (food or non-food) in urban and suburban areas.”

Urban agriculture has been around for a long time, since at least 3500 BCE when farmers of Mesopotamia set aside plots for farming in their cities. It continued to be found across the globe

throughout the passage of time, including in Persia, Machu Picchu, and the Aztec Civilization. More recent urban agriculture roots can be found in the “allotment gardens” of major European cities like London and Paris during the turn of the 20th century to help the “urban poor,” and in the Victory Gardens of the World Wars. However, the expansion of car culture along with racist zoning policies contributed to “supermarket redlining” during the mid-20th century and the reorganizing of cities, leading to a decline in urban agriculture.

Yet urban agriculture never really disappeared, experiencing the seeds of a renaissance during the 1970s as Black and Latinx urban communities reclaimed vacant lots by establishing community gardens to provide a space for community while feeding people. Detroit is a oft-cited case study of this, from Mayor Coleman Young’s “Farm a Lot” program in the 1970s that sought to transform 3000 empty lots into community gardens to the creation of Keep Growing Detroit in 2013 and the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN) in 2018, the latter which ensured residents had access to food during the COVID 19 pandemic with a seed sharing and instructional video program.

Today you can find examples of urban agriculture all across the country, including nearby large farms like Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farming and green rooftop business that operates 2 rooftop farms in New York City that span almost 5 acres and produce over 80,000 organically grown vegetables annually, to our very own Kingston YMCA Farm Project, a nonprofit educational farm located in the heart of Midtown.

As our world increasingly urbanizes, we can only anticipate a growth in urban agriculture. In our state alone there are over 1,000 registered or permitted community gardens in cities, according to New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, so let’s talk about them!

Benefits of Urban Ag

Whether looking at backyard gardens, community gardens, or slightly larger scale farms for production, there are numerous benefits to urban agriculture that could be loosely grouped into themes like environmental impacts, health & wellness, local food economy, and community & culture (see below).

In a quantitative analysis on the social impacts of urban agriculture by CUNY, reported benefits from farmers and gardeners varied depending on the type of farm, which makes sense! A farm that primarily sells their products would rank the economic benefit as the highest just as a community garden might rank social connectedness as a top benefit.

One thing that was interesting was that general wellbeing and social impact benefits were more important than the explicitly nutritional benefits for almost all farms.

Urban Ag in Kingston

Urban agriculture isn’t new to Kingston. Below is a partial timeline of policies and programs over the past 25 years.

Capturing the state of urban agriculture in Kingston is challenging. According to the Grow Well Community Garden Map, there are 15 gardens, including:

• community gardens with private plots or shared labor models
• gardens that give away or sell food
• school gardens
• pollinator gardens (and more!)

There are also numerous organizations supporting urban agriculture in Kingston, such as the Kingston YMCA Farm Project, Kingston Land Trust, The Coop Concept, and more.

Kingston Planning Documents

Urban agriculture (UA) has been incorporated in a number of Kingston planning documents and policies in recent years, including the following.

PLANNING DOCUMENT: Kingston Urban Agriculture Planning & Zoning Study

YEAR: 2014

UA MENTIONS:

This was a targeted assessment of urban agriculture led by the Kingston Urban Agriculture Committee.

One of the goals of this study was to provide recommendations in coordination with the development of the Kingston 2025 Comprehensive Plan and advocate for more urban agriculture-friendly zoning changes, many of which were successful with the City’s updated form-based zoning code adopted in 2023. A Phase 2 was developed in 2017, but never finalized or adopted.

PLANNING DOCUMENT: Kingston 2025 Comprehensive Plan

YEAR: 2016

UA MENTIONS:

Goal 1: Promote a Sustainable Citywide Land Use Policy

Objective 1.3: Promote urban agriculture as a sustainable practice as a part of local and regional food systems change, with a focus on Midtown; – includes allowing agriculture in City parks

Goal 2: Promote maintenance and improvement of existing stable neighborhoods outside the “mixed-use cores;”

Objective 2.5: Promote social interaction through the provision of neighborhood gardens, community gardens, parks and other open spaces;

Goal 3: Preserve constrained lands as open space, agriculture or very low-density residential clustered development as appropriate

Goal 8: Promote a new planned commercial node in Midtown centered around

Education, the Arts, Entertainment and Ethnic Diversity;

Strategy 8.1.2: Acquire vacant lots and blighted properties for public spaces and urban agriculture.

PLANNING DOCUMENT: Kingston Open Space Plan

YEAR: 2019

UA MENTIONS:

“More than 800 acres of land in Kingston are classified as vacant, including 38 acres owned by the City of Kingston. While every effort should be made to promote investment in blighted properties, those properties that are beyond saving and that tend to be located in the most at-need areas of the city should be considered for incorporation into the network of community gardens.” (pg 50)

PLANNING DOCUMENT: Climate Smart Kingston Action Plan 2030

YEAR: 2021

UA MENTIONS:

Strategy Spotlight 20: Increase Local Participation in Community Gardens (pg 69)

PLANNING DOCUMENT: Kingston’s New Form-Based Zoning Code

YEAR: 2023

UA MENTIONS:

Urban agriculture is addressed in Kingston’s updated form-based zoning code under Section 405.21. This permits urban agriculture in nearly all neighborhoods of Kingston. Transect Districts T5-MS (Urban Center- Main Street) and T4-MS (Neighborhood- Main Street) require special permits.

Other specific zoning details are addressed, such as:

• Dimensional standards for structures must comply with the standards of the underlying district
• Urban agriculture shall not be a nuisance or hazard to surrounding neighborhood, and shall be maintained in healthy growing condition
• Rooftop locations are allowable
• Composting allowable, with size and location standards
• Accessory beekeeping allowed with standards and limitations
• Accessory chickens allowed with standards and limitations, such as enclosure and flock specifications

Does Urban Agriculture Reduce Food Insecurity?

So, now that we’ve laid a foundation of what urban agriculture is and what it looks like in Kingston, let’s get back to the question– Does urban agriculture reduce food insecurity?

The results are mixed. While an increase in food security is often touted as a benefit, there is not an extensive amount of evidence to validate this statement. A great place to start is UC Berkley’s systematic review on Does Urban Agriculture Improve Food Security?

What mostly arises in the research is that urban agriculture contributes to a modest increase in food security by providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables, which are typically more unaffordable food items. For example, a literature review from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future found that food insecure people could save between $240-720 per household per year from home or community gardens. This helps to fill a crucial gap in our food system!

However, at the scale that urban agriculture currently operates, there are mixed results on meeting all food needs. One study found that there is simply not enough land to grow food to meet all nutrient requirements, notably vitamins D and B12, which are more available in animal sources of food.

Additionally, as discussed in the Food Policy Bite on tax incentives to increase food retail locations, food access is defined in more ways than just physical access. Just because there is an increase in agriculture nearby does not always guarantee that the harvests will be available, physically, economically or socially, to people who are food insecure. A mapping of urban agriculture in Chicago found that many urban core, low-income census tracts lacked access to community or residential gardens. Another study found that the 68 urban gardens in Phoenix serve less than 9% of “food desert” residents, although there is the opportunity for gardens to theoretically serve more than 96% of the residents.

It could be argued instead that urban agriculture, at the scale it exists currently, can increase food sovereignty. According to the US Food Sovereignty Alliance, “food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” Allowing and promoting urban agriculture gives people more power to define their own food system, even on a small scale.

How Can Cities Use Policy to Support Urban?

Yet, just because urban agriculture doesn’t have evidence of significantly improving food security does not mean it doesn’t have numerous benefits, including food access. Let’s take a look at other cities with a vibrant urban agriculture scene and the policies they’ve adopted to support that.

New York City & Boston

New York City and Boston both have urban agriculture departments (NYC Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture & GrowBoston: Office for Urban Agriculture) that work closely with food policy offices (NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy & Boston’s Office of Food Justice). NYC has a major focus on collecting and measuring data, including the NYC Urban Agriculture Explorer Hub. Boston is focusing on planning and policy, outlined in their 2024 Urban Agriculture Recommendations Report.

Salem, MA

There is plenty of urban agriculture work being done in small cities as well. Take Salem as a city more comparable in size to Kingston than NYC. Salem doesn’t have a separate urban agriculture department, but community agriculture was one of 4 main sections in its 2018 Community Food Assessment. This ultimately led to revisions to Salem’s urban agriculture ordinance and the creation of a municipal farm, Mack Park Farm, a transformed neglected ball field that grows healthy food for the community and is the site of Salem’s first community food forest.

Other Examples

Other examples of ways cities have used zoning and policy to define urban agriculture can be found at the Healthy Food Policy Project.

For example, Washington DC has a law that reduces property taxes by up to 90 percent for the portion of the property that is used as an urban farm.

Or Cleveland, Ohio, which adopted numerous policies, such as its Urban Garden Zoning District which reserves land for gardening and permits the sale of produce, along with its Summer Sprout Program, which offers seasonal access to water for community gardens.

So should cities adopt policies to encourage and support urban agriculture?

Yes! While the evidence is not there (yet) that urban agriculture significantly reduces food insecurity, there are many other benefits of urban agriculture.

Until our food system is able to address the tension between farm security and food security in our economic system, one way to view policies that support and incentivize urban farms might be as a public good for the numerous benefits listed above, rather than requiring that the urban farms operate as a for-profit venture where success is only measured by sales and revenue. This helps communities not to fall into the expectation of the “unattainable trifecta” of urban agriculture, a myth that (without significant, long-term investments) urban agriculture can 1) provide good food to all at affordable prices, 2) provide career opportunities for people typically excluded, AND 3) generate enough income.

A great next step for Kingston will be the its upcoming Food System Plan (to be released for public comment this spring), which will include some recommendations that build on Kingston’s already incredible urban agriculture foundation and our an award-winning, innovative zoning code. Kingston might take inspiration from other cities that have incorporated a food systems lens into their planning processes, prioritizing things like food hubs, required agriculture and/or food retail in development projects, mobile food distributions, and more. The American Planning Association’s Food System resources are a great place to start.

Regardless of the direction, it will be important for Kingston to continue to consider its unique community characteristics such as user needs, desired community impacts, and urban agriculture type to foster a healthy food systems with urban agriculture that is just right for Kingston.

For more information on food & nutrition projects at the City of Kingston, reach out to Kristin Kessler, RDN, CDN, RYT at kkessler@kingston-ny.gov

If you want to receive future Food Policy Bites in your inbox, Sign Up Here.

An Eat Well Kingston Presentation

About the Presentation

In February 2025 Eat Well welcomed Saoirse Moloney-Stevenson, Assistant Foodservice Director at Kingston City School District, who presented on the district’s trials, successes, and goals, along with Katie Sheehan-Lopez, Regional Farm to School Procurement Specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension, who presented on Farm to School and the NYS 30% initiative.

Click here Saorise’s slides on KCSD Food Service

Click here for Katie’s slides on Regional Farm to School work

About the Eat Well Focus Team

The purpose of the Eat Well Focus Team is to develop, implement and/or support policy, systems and environmental change by supporting and promoting local efforts to improve access to healthy foods throughout the community. We coordinate with gardening/urban agriculture efforts and organizations addressing food insecurity and healthy eating in Kingston.

Our partners include farmers, chefs, teachers, artists, nutrition educators, dietitians, parents, non-profit and for-profit organizations, communicators, systems changers, volunteer organizations, private businesses, health practitioners, nurses, doctors and most importantly: YOU.

Visit https://livewellkingston.org/focus-teams/eat-well/ for more information.

Or contact Kristin Kessler at kkessler@kingston-ny.gov.