NY audit finds honey, maple syrup excluded from food relief

By Blake Jackson

A New York State audit has found that honey and maple syrup are often excluded from the Nourish New York program, which allows food relief organizations to purchase goods from farmers. The audit found that the Department of Health applied federal standards to the program, which left some organizations unable to purchase honey, maple syrup, and whole milk.

The Department of Health has said that the Nourish New York program does not exclude products based on their nutritional value, but that by applying the nationally set standards, it left out honey and maple syrup, which are categorized as natural sweeteners.

The audit also found that nearly 40% of producers were unaware of the Nourish New York program. Honey producer Raymond Lowe said that honey and maple syrup are often left out of these types of programs because of confusion around nutritional value, but he believes that raw honey has more benefits than store-bought honey.

Lowe sells his honey at the CNY Regional Market, where he is often approached by people who want to buy his products using EBT and bonus dollars added by the state. However, he said that the program specifically states that it is for fruits and vegetables, so he assumes that it does not include honey.

Lowe believes that New York could do a better job of including honey in these programs. He said that he never sees the state advertising to the public anything about buying local honey, and that he understands the confusion around whether it is a sweet or a food.

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