Nourish New York distributes 100M meals to families

By Blake Jackson

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York's Nourish New York program has distributed 100 million meals to families across the state.

Originally launched during the pandemic as an emergency relief effort, the program connects those in need with surplus agricultural products from New York farmers.

In November 2021, Governor Hochul codified the initiative into state law. This milestone highlights New York’s ongoing commitment to addressing food insecurity, particularly during the holiday season.

Governor Hochul also signed legislation A.9259/S.8690, ensuring that milk and milk products, including whole and two percent fat milk, are eligible for the program.

“Over the last four years, the impact of Nourish New York has skyrocketed, distributing more than 100 million meals to those facing food insecurity while also supporting New York's farms,” Governor Hochul said. “There’s no better time to share this incredible milestone and reaffirm my commitment to providing critical support to those in need than during the holiday season, and I look forward to seeing even more New Yorkers benefit from this critical initiative in the years to come."

The program reroutes New York’s surplus agricultural products to populations in need through food banks, helping farmers and food producers who lost markets during the pandemic.

Nourish New York provides funding directly to emergency food providers, allowing them to purchase agricultural products from local farmers and distribute them to consumers via drive-through food distributions, food box programs, and school meals.

Since its launch in May 2020, Nourish New York has committed over $175 million, helping food banks purchase over 118 million pounds of New York food. This has provided more than 100 million meals, benefiting 4,472 farms and agribusinesses.

"The Nourish NY program was created to serve as a critical pipeline getting food from our farms to people in need during the pandemic through our network of emergency food providers. Since it launched, it has continued to be a resounding success and just goes to show how big of an impact we can make when we all work together," said New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball. " I thank Governor Hochul for her unwavering support to this critical program that we can now proudly say has provided 100 million meals to families in need across the state while ensuring our farmers right here in New York remain our first and best customers.”

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