World population continues to concentrate in urban centers, while its inhabitants are increasingly disconnected from the natural world and food system. Hellgate Farm works to reconnect people with nature and each other through teaching hands-on skills and building community. Our emphasis is to foster stronger bonds within our community by distributing, preparing and consuming the food we grow.
This project will build on the momentum we've gained over our nine seasons working in Queens providing access to organically grown, hyperlocal food amongst one of the world's most diverse communities. We have the experience and drive to accomplish much more, but we need an extra boost in our infrastructure and resources to further our reach.
Your support will help us achieve these goals:
1. Improve farm infrastructure so we can more efficiently cultivate, harvest, wash, and store produce.
2. Substantially reduce the cost of raw produce for those in need and increase our outreach through food justice initiatives.
3. Expand our composting systems, which will allow us to process more kitchen waste from our community, diverting it from the landfill.
4. Continue our education efforts in a more formal way by establishing a designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Our History
Hellgate Farm started as an urban garden in 2011 in a residential backyard in Astoria, New York. Two years later, our neighbors invited us to start a garden in their yard. The next year, we expanded to another backyard as well as an industrial rooftop space. We continued to build gardens in previously unused or underutilized spaces in Northwest Queens through partnerships within our neighborhood. This collection of gardens became Hellgate Farm.
Throughout this journey, we've organically built community around sustainability and abundance. We run a neighborhood food scrap drop-off site to make compost and educate hundreds of people in hands-on skills from gardening to carpentry through our volunteer apprenticeship program. We also collaborate to create some amazing hyperlocal small batch products and have begun focusing on accessibility and food justice. We do this work because we are passionate about creating solutions in an era of many environmental and social challenges.
By now, we hope you're feeling fired up and ready to stand with us for a more sustainable and just future!
What Else Is In It For You?
Not only will you get that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing you contributed to a great local cause, but you can also choose from one of our unique Hellgate Farm produced rewards!
What would a Hellgate Farm reward be if it didn’t include our famous hot sauce?!
Have you ever wanted to see what farming in the city looks like? We’ve got a tour for that!
Add some spice to your marketing by putting your logo on 4000 bottles of our hot sauce!
