Randall’s Island Park Alliance Wins National Award to Expand Accessible Community Garden at Urban Farm

NEW YORK, October, 27, 2026 – The Randall’s Island Park Alliance is one of 70 teams nationwide that was selected as a Phase 1 winner of the Cultivating Connected Communities Garden Challenge, a national competition run by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

The Alliance will receive $4,000 to put towards the Randall’s Island Park Urban Farm’s Guest Gardener program, which provides older adults with dedicated growing space where they grow crops that are personally or culturally meaningful to them. 

The Guest Gardener program has expanded since its creation in 2025, and RIPA’s plan is to add four new Vego beds to the Farm, tripling the program’s dedicated raised-bed capacity and allowing participation to grow from eight to twelve Guest Gardeners in 2027. This would bring the Urban Farm’s growing space to 96 square feet and increase the annual number of structured Farm sessions from three to four, among other significant measurables.  

The proposed expansion responds directly to participant interest and desire for additional growing space. Throughout the two years of operating the pilot, RIPA staff have observed that the existing hip-height Vego beds work particularly well for our older adult population. To prepare for the expansion, staff surveyed the Farm and identified suitable locations for the four additional beds. 

Several organizations such as Food Bank for NYC and New York City’s Harlem Community Kitchen, partners of the Guest Gardener program, will benefit from these funds as the expansion of the Farm will create a dedicated growing space of their own. 

Current participant Rikko Swee, 69, who has been a guest gardener since the program’s launch, is appreciative of RIPA providing older adults with access to growing space. “If we could plant more, it would be great, says Swee. “When I go to the supermarket, I get ripped off. It’s very expensive.” Rikko’s experience reflects growing affordability and food access challenges facing many older adults across New York, which makes this funding critical to expanding growing access to older adults.  

As a Phase 1 winner, RIPA now moves on to Phase 2 of the challenge. Through mid-May, the Alliance will put its plan into action and track results. It can earn up to $8,000 more based on its outcomes. 

The Cultivating Connected Communities Garden Challenge is a national competition to expand accessible, inclusive community garden models. Learn more on the Cultivating Connected Communities Challenge page at ACL.gov. 

See a photo gallery featuring some of the older adult programming we do at the Urban Farm!