Fridays on the Farm: Growing in the City of Good Neighbors

This Friday, meet Mayda Pozantides and Anders Gunnersen, owners of Groundwork Market Garden in Buffalo, New York. They started the farm in 2015 after purchasing two acres of land parallel to an old railway bed in an auction for a bargain price. With a focus on soil health, Mayda and Anders began their farming operation using organic methods.

Before farming, Mayda was a teacher with a passion for food and farming. She continues to educate, but now she is doing it through Groundwork Market Garden. 

“I love to transform a space and help things grow, and that it all begins with healthy soils,” said Mayda. “I believe healthy soils produce healthy plants, which in turn provide fuel for people to create healthy communities.” Mayda commented.

Getting Started

Prior to the purchase, the land was used as a former lumber yard and had been abandoned for many years. Because of this, Mayda and Anders tested the soil to ensure the soil was safe to grow in. The test confirmed that the soil was safe to grow directly in, which is not the norm for most urban agriculture where city soils can contain high traces of metals.

Groundwork Market Garden became USDA Certified Organic in 2018 with help from the USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP). The program provides cost share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products who are obtaining or renewing their certification under the National Organic Program (NOP). 

Additionally, they have added high tunnels to the operation with help from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). High tunnels protect plants from severe weather and allow farmers to extend their growing seasons, sometimes allowing them to grow year-round, which is beneficial in a place like Buffalo. Mayda and Anders are also working with NRCS to further improve the farm with low tunnels, mulching, soil carbon amendment (biochar), irrigation and a compost facility.

Growing the Business

Mayda and Anders acquired a 40,000-square-foot building adjacent to the farm in 2017. The following year, FSA’s microloan program helped them fund drilling a well and start a mushroom facility, where they now grow Lion’s Mane, Blue Oyster, Black Oyster, and King Trumpet mushrooms. 

“I was very nervous about taking out a loan, but our FSA loan officer was super helpful,” said Mayda. “She was the perfect amount of friendly and helpful, but also serious and explaining the whole process, and not sugar coating it all. It was a good experience for us and allowed us to grow our business.” 

The first floor of the building is used for many purposes, including washing and packing their produce, cold storage, mushroom growing and their farm stand. They have plans to transform the building in the future, adding a commercial kitchen, food education space, along with aquaponic grow rooms to expand their year-round growing capabilities. They hope to offer commercial space for other local businesses in the future. 

A Good Neighbor 

Buffalo is known as the City of Good Neighbors, and helping the local neighborhood is a focus for Groundwork Market Garden. The farm operates as a market-style Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, selling shares in their crops to members who pay up front in late winter and early spring. This gives the farm money to purchase seed and materials for the growing season. In return, members have store credit to come to the farm stand every Tuesday for 20 weeks and select the produce they want for the week. 

Groundwork Market Garden also runs a program called the Good Neighbor Fund, where local businesses and people can donate money for the farm to offer Solidarity Shares to local families suffering from food insecurity. Additionally, they partner with a city council member to offer two free plants to local households, so they can experience growing their own food. They also allow volunteers on the farm during specific times in the growing season to share the joy of farming with others.

More Information

Visit local farms, ranches, forests, and resource areas through our Fridays on the Farm stories. Meet farmers, producers, and landowners who are working to improve their operations with USDA programs. 

USDA offers a variety of risk management, disaster assistance, loan, and conservation programs to help producers weather ups and downs in the market, recover from natural disasters, and invest in improvements to their operations. Learn about additional programs.

For more information about USDA programs and services, contact your local USDA service center.

Lynnette Wright is the communications coordinator for FSA in New York.