Just Food: The City Farms: Markets

• Workshop Schedule
• Farmers' Markets
• City Chickens
• Tipsheets
• Press Releases

Just Food
208 East 51st Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
tel 212.645.9880
fax 212.645.9881
email us

What NYC Community Gardeners Say About Raising Chickens:

● "Raising chickens will remind me of my grandmother's farm in Puerto Rico."

●"The thought of chickens makes me nostalgic about my childhood in Europe."

● "I was a chicken farmer in Puerto Rico, so I have experience. I would love to raise chickens!"

● "I grew up with chickens, would be great experience for city children to be around live animals."

●"Taking care of chickens is rewarding; chickens are friendly and smart; people stop at the garden just to see the chickens."

City Chicken
Fresh Eggs for NYC!

Do you want chickens in your garden?
Do you want a new chicken coop?

This summer, Just Food’s City Chicken Project, with the support of Heifer International, can build you a new chicken coop and give you chickens for your garden. Applicants must be NYC community groups of 8 or more people, must have 8 square feet of space for each hen, and should have a plan to use the eggs to feed their communities. Application deadline: April 18th. For more information or an application, please contact Owen at Just Food: 212.645.9880 x229 or owen@justfood.org.

City Chicken Application 2008

The City Chicken Project helps people legally and safely raise chickens for eggs in New York City. By working in partnership with our network of urban gardeners and other organizations, Just Food has launched an initiative to:

promote best practices and the benefits of raising chickens in the city,
teach people how to build coops that are structurally sound and healthy for hens,
publicize relevant city regulations and codes, and
support gardeners who are interested in setting-up or expanding egg production operations.

Why raise chickens?
These fine feathered friends can contribute to the social, economic, and environmental well- being of your community. They help out in the garden and the neighborhood by:

improving garden health, suppressing pests and weeds, and building soil fertility,
giving neighborhood children the opportunity to learn where their food comes from, and
producing nutritious eggs to be enjoyed by their caretakers and sold at farmers’ markets.

How can I learn more?
Interested in finding out how to bring chickens to your community? Just Food has published a guide to help new and experienced chicken-keepers. The City Chicken Guide provides information about:

the benefits of chickens,
advice about how to talk to your neighbors about your new hens,
the city, state and federal regulations and codes you should know,
instructions on coop building and selecting the right hens for your needs, and
information about how to care for your chickens.

The guide also provides a list of resources and important contacts.

To order a City Chicken Guide, please call (212) 645-9880 x221 or click here, print out the order form, and send a check for $18 (plus $3 shipping and handling) to:

  Just Food
ATTN: City Chickens Guide
  208 East 51st Street, 4 th Floor
  New York, NY 10022

This program was made possible in part by a grant from Heifer International

Listen to WNYC's radio piece on the City Chicken Program, featuring our very own Owen Taylor and Karen Washington!

Links to:

Aparment Therapy The Kitchen
Urban Agriculture: Raising Chickens in NYC

Urban Chickens, Albuquerque, NM www.urbanchickens.org

Seattle Tilth Association , Seattle, WA www.seattletilth.org

Growing Gardens, Portland, OR www.growing-gardens.org

The City Chicken, Vancouver, WA home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/index.html

Backyard Chickens http://www.backyardchickens.com

A Flock of Your Own www.gatewaytovermont.com/thefarm/chickens.htm

FeatherSite www.feathersite.com

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