Upstate NY Visit to Hidden Acre Farm 

On Saturday Oct 30th of 2021, the NSF-Research Coordination Network City-as-Lab team, visited the Hidden Acre Farm, located upstate New York, and held a discussion on Regional Food Systems with guests participants from local and regional organizations. This visit and meeting was organized by Eugene Kwak, an architect and professor of urban planning at SUNY Farmingdale, after he presented his project “Togather”, which addresses the regional food system and rural-urban continuum. 

The Togather project aims to empower beginning farmers by providing affordable housing and long-term free land lease while sharing space with city dwellers interested in a healthy lifestyle and more direct connection to their source of food. The core of the project is a novel model: a two-family residence, providing a home for the urban landowner and the farmer family. The design focuses on the coexistence of the families represented with interlocking but separate living spaces bound by a common outer shell. The concept emphasizes shared outdoor space with the landscape with views showcasing the produce cultivated in the surrounding fields.  Farming practices are regenerative, including hand-pulled tools and no-till operations that build healthy soil and foster carbon sequestration. The Hidden Acre Farm produce is sold at the Brooklyn Carroll Garden and Barryville Farmers’ market.

The agenda of this visit included introductions & networking, two hours-discussion on the Regional food system, followed by a farm tour with the following participants:

From Regional Organizations:

• Erica Goodman, New York Regional Director of the American Farmland Trust

• Laura Lengnick, Director of Agriculture, Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming

• Lucinda Poindexter, Executive Director, Chester Agricultural Center

• Bea Stern, President of the Board of Directors, Chester Agricultural Center

• Michelle Miller, Associate Director, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison

From the NSF-Research Coordination Network:

Cecilia Dong, Ph.D., Professor at New York Institute of Technology.

Marta Panero, Ph.D., Director of strategic partnerships at  New York Institute of Technology.

Michael Bobker, MSc, Associate Director, CUNY Institute for Urban Systems (CIUS)

Jeffrey Raven, FAIA, Associate Professor at New York Institute of Technology

Nury M Gutierrez, M.Sc. Sustainability, Research Coordination Network Project Associate. 

This memorable visit was possible thanks to Claire and Eugene Kwak who welcomed the RCN team to their lovely home, a space to exchange ideas over a delicious meal.  Eugene’s inspired leadership led us to this cross-disciplinary platform that we hope will yield collaborative projects going forward. 

Thanks to Melissa Phillips and Jack Whettam, operators of the Hidden Acres Farm at ToGather, for sharing their passion, expertise, and delicious food springing from their carefully tended soil. 

The Research Coordination Network (RCN) focuses on the nexus of food, energy, and water as the basis for an equitable, sustainable, and resilient region.