Last Friday wrapped the 4th week of our Student Summer Meal Program and what a month it has been! Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers the program is running smoothly and making a difference in the lives of so many individuals in our community.
Recently, we’ve received quite a bit of interest around Nourish New York and the role it has played in establishing the summer meal program. Similar to CFC’s other programs, there are many pieces that fit into the puzzle that is successfully operating a program while staying true to our mission.
Our friends at NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets were kind enough to share a bit of background on Nourish NY and the statewide impact that the program has made.
We are also excited to announce that the NYS Agriculture Commissioner, Richard Ball (pictured), will be visiting us at Greenwich Central School on August 5th to see the meal program in action!
The below piece was submitted by Hanna Birkhead, Public Information Specialist at NY Agriculture and Markets. Continue reading to learn more!
Nourish New York is rerouting surplus agricultural products to populations who need them most through New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers. Launched in May, Governor Cuomo’s $25 million initiative to get surplus food from farmers to families in need during the COVID-19 outbreak reached a major milestone this week, with more than 5.4 million pounds of surplus dairy, produce, and other products purchased from New York farms and distributed to households across the state so far. The important work being done by community emergency food providers, such as Comfort Food Community, is critical to the success of the Nourish New York program. Comfort Food Community has been able to use funding from the program to buy local food and milk from Capital Region farms to power their Student Meal program, which ensures Greenwich Central School District students have access to a healthy and nutritious breakfast and lunch during the summer months. Food banks and emergency food providers across the state have purchased more than $5.5 million in Nourish New York product from New York’s processors and farmers who have temporarily lost markets as a result of COVID-19. This includes more than 2.1 million pounds of dairy products, including fluid milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream, and nearly 2.6 million pounds of produce, such as fruits and vegetables, that have been provided to nearly 182,000 New York families. Additionally, there have been over 660 Nourish New York food distribution events held.
The Nourish NY program supports the purchase of local farm products for school meal programs, drive-through food distribution events organized by the state’s food banks, and food distributions at local food pantries.
To find out more about Nourish NY, visit: https://agriculture.ny.gov/NourishNY.