New York state takes action to address hunger

By Blake Jackson

Governor Kathy Hochul today highlighted the work of the State's revitalized Council on Hunger and Food Policy, which is working to increase the use of healthy and locally grown foods in school meals, expand food access to underserved communities, and boost agricultural production and processing.

The Council's work supports the Governor's priorities and advances many State initiatives that promote the resiliency of New York's food supply chain and bring more New York foods to New York families in need.

Here are some of the key things the Council is working on:

• Increasing the use of healthy and locally grown foods in school meals: The Council was critical during the establishment of the State's 30 Percent New York State Initiative, which is intended to provide healthy New York sourced food products to children as part of their lunch meal in school. The initiative increases the reimbursement schools receive for lunches from 5.9 cents per meal to 25 cents per meal for any district that purchases at least 30 percent ingredients for their school lunch program from New York farms.
• Expanding food access to underserved communities: The Council's work further aligns with and supports many additional State programs focused on alleviating food insecurity, including the Nourish New York program, the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, and the FreshConnect Fresh2You Initiative.
• Boosting agricultural production and processing: The Council is also working to support the State's agricultural sector by promoting demand for New York agricultural products and bolstering New York's food supply chain.

Governor Hochul also announced that the State Department of Health (DOH) is operating nutrition programs to reach underserved populations who often don't have equal access to abundant, affordable, healthy food options. These programs include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The State is also working to ensure that all New Yorkers are able to produce and access fresh, local foods. This includes funding for community garden programming and the Food Access Expansion Grant program.

New York State is taking action to address hunger and food insecurity, and the Council on Hunger and Food Policy is playing a key role in this work.

Photo Credit: istock-zhaojiankang