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ALBANY – Our local representative in New York State’s Senate is partnering with a downstate colleague to establish a new food program to help families in need.
State Senator George Borrello is pushing legislation that would direct surplus agricultural products to go to local food banks.
“The economic recovery for many of these struggling New Yorkers will extend beyond the pandemic, which is why it is critical that we commit now, to permanently establish and expand through legislation, food relief programs like Nourish New York, which benefit both our farmers and those in need,” said Borrello in a statement. “One of my starkest memories from earlier in the pandemic was footage of despondent farmers dumping milk and leaving crops unharvested in their fields, as desperate New Yorkers waited in lines for hours at food pantries. We need to ensure that doesn’t happen again and this bill is the first step forward.”
The Republican is working with Democrat Catalina Cruz on the initiative. He says the program would be similar to the current Nourish New York model.
Chautauqua County’s Rural Ministry in Dunkirk was among the organizations that benefited from the program, which Borrello says served nearly 4,000 meals weekly while using agricultural products.
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