Growing Side By Side
Timothy Dunn wheelbarrows compost from last season at 490 Farm on Monday, April 15, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y.
“It was just a vacant lot, there wasn’t anything here. There were some needles around and there really wasn’t any value. It was kind of just blank”
Timothy Dunn (left), Chloe Smith (middle), and a volunteer (right) dig up compost on the first volunteer night at 490 Farm, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y.
In the city of Rochester, N.Y. alongside the busy Interstate 490 (I-490), is a hidden community gem, called 490 Farm. The 490 Farm is the first community garden on state owned land in New York, and the second largest in the city of Rochester.
Chloe Smith, the founder of 490 Farm, lived in the nearby neighborhood in 2017, and felt inclined to do something with the empty lot she walked past every day. “I was trying to figure out how to start a garden. I didn’t know how at the time”, says Chloe. This thought turned into action when Chloe got in touch with New York State and obtained a permit to start the garden. 490 Farm was set for success and launched in May of 2018.
“It builds community in a way like a lot of other projects don’t quite as easily. It is such a natural thing for people to get together and physically garden, plant, and build things” says Chloe. Members and volunteers of 490 Farm have since created friendships through finding this special place.
Timothy Dunn, a member of 490 Farm since 2021 says, “I think coming together around food is really bringing it back to square one. You know, like touching grass as the kids say.” Timothy also grew up in this neighborhood and expresses how he wishes people had more spaces to come together and hang out like they do at 490 Farm. “I’ve lived in this neighborhood for freaking ever. We’re trying to diversify and get more people in the neighborhoods to come hang out”, says Timothy.
490 Farm is named after the I-490. With 490 Farm being pushed up right next to the I-490, comes an intense contrast. The I-490 corridor was conceived and designed to provide convenient access from the western suburbs and the New York State Thruway and downtown Rochester. The thruway separates the city, but the community garden brings the city together.
Across the fence from 490 Farm is I-490, photographed on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y.
Before 490 Farm, the empty plot was an encampment for nearby unhoused people. “Along the fence line is a ridge, and below that was kind of like the hiding hole for homeless people for a long time, longer than the garden has been here” says Timothy.
Since 490’s start, a big chunk of volunteers have been this community of homeless people. 490 Farm offers a Free Food Forest, garden plots to rent, a children’s garden, and community composting. 490 Farm serves as a stark reminder of the importance of staying connected with each other and the land that occupies us. Getting your hands dirty and engaging with neighbors is not only personally fulfilling, but it creates a community unlike any other.
