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JAMESTOWN – Our area’s State Senator is touting expanded funding for a program that helps not only local farms stay in businesses, but provides food to New Yorkers in need.
Last week Senator George Borrello joined a New York City area lawmaker in drafting legislation that would further the Nourish NY initiative.
The bill, Borrello says, establishes a permanent program to distribute surplus agricultural products to food banks around the state.
In a step forward to achieving the goal, New York’s Governor committed another $25 million for the current program.
“I applaud Governor Cuomo’s latest $25 million commitment to the Nourish NY program, a compassionate initiative that has been a lifeline for New York farmers and families left struggling because of the pandemic,” said Borrello in a statement. “Both groups were casualties of our sudden economic shutdown, a plight that was painfully illustrated by endless lines at food pantries and images of farmers dumping milk and abandoning crops as their markets disappeared virtually overnight.”
Borrello says by establishing a new channel for moving fresh farm products to those in need, the state not only responded to the crisis at hand, but addressed ongoing challenges of food insecurity and the local agricultural economy.
“That is why Assembly Member Cruz and I are advancing a measure that would make a farm to food bank program permanent,” he furthered. “Such an action would provide stability for our farmers and food banks, as well as the millions of New Yorkers they support.”
Borrello says the funding announcement has added momentum to the goal, which he plans to continue to push for as the legislative session moves forward.
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