Catskills Agrarian Alliance
Hamden, NY
Date Funded: August, 2025
Catskills Agrarian Alliance (CAA) is a nonprofit farm, food hub, logistics network, and land access initiative based in Hamden, NY. What began in 2015 as a grassroots farmer collaborative officially became a 501(c)(3) in 2022, with a mission to connect small-scale, sustainable farms with communities most in need—especially those historically excluded from healthy food access.
Operating across the Catskills, Hudson Valley, Adirondacks, and NYC regional foodshed, CAA builds resilient food systems through aggregation, distribution, mutual aid, and farm-to-institution programs. At its heart is a commitment to regenerative agriculture, equity, and food sovereignty—working in relationship with the land while advancing ecological care and social justice.
In 2025, CAA received a USDA Regional Food Systems Infrastructure grant to construct a new barn facility in the Western Catskills. Designed as a multi-use warehouse with cold storage, wash/pack, and a commercial kitchen, the space will support at least 28 partner farms while more than doubling CAA’s capacity to move local food. This hub will expand market access, reduce costs, and strengthen connections between farms, schools, food distributors, and community organizations, creating long-term resilience for the regional food system.
A low-interest loan from Foodshed Capital, paired with a first-for-us recoverable grant from a generous regional funder, bridge the upfront costs of construction prior to grant reimbursement and ensured the project could move forward quickly and ahead of winter weather.
