New York City - Governor Eliot Spitzer increased state aid to the food banks of New York State on November 21st by adding $5 million in Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program money to the food budgets of the eight regional food banks and the New York City United Way.

Governor Eliot Spitzer visited the Bowery Mission in New York City today to announce the additional $5 million.  It will be available to help food pantries and soup kitchens, who are facing a decrease in federal funding and private donations, restock their shelves during this holiday season.

“We absolutely must continue to support the critical work of New York’s emergency food network, and I am pleased we can be of some assistance during this particularly tough holiday season,” said Governor Spitzer. “These volunteers help ensure that our state’s most vulnerable residents - the indigent, children and seniors - receive the food they need to remain healthy and productive.”

Food banks are facing depleted inventories this holiday season. Part of the unprecedented decline in available food is due to decreased private sector donations related to the economy and a reduction in federal support for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP funding is being negotiated in Congress as part of the reauthorization of the Farm Bill. However, it is unlikely New York State will receive a restoration of the $10 million previously allocated in TEFAP funding. Because food banks can purchase food in bulk at low rates, every dollar provided to the emergency food network is amplified. One dollar to the emergency food network can purchase and distribute four dollars worth of food.

State Health Commissioner Richard Daines said: “This additional funding will provide food for those New Yorkers who may not be able to feed themselves during this holiday season. Emergency food providers throughout New York State, and around the country, are experiencing unprecedented lows in their food inventories. I would like to thank Governor Spitzer for his commitment to this critical mission.”

John Evers, Executive Director of the Food Bank Association of New York State, said: “With food bank inventories across the state at record lows and the holiday season quickly approaching, the food banks of New York State wholeheartedly applaud Governor Spitzer for stepping up to the plate and providing needed food in desperate times. By directly addressing the issue of hunger and increasing state aid to the food banks Governor Spitzer shows us first hand that he understands the mission of emergency feeding programs and the difficult financial picture we are facing. This $5 million increase by Governor Spitzer will lead the way in helping us feed thousands of hungry people as we approach the tough winter months. The Food Banks of New York State can’t thank him enough for this welcome news.”

Governor's full press release:  http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/1121071.html

Executive Director Begs for food so other don't have to

COLONIE -- As executive director of the nearly 1-year-old statewide Food Bank Association, John Evers travels across New York to increase food resources for eight regional food banks.

As a statewide advocate, he aims to find funding opportunities to buy quantities in bulk at a fraction of the retail cost. He regularly meets with the Farm Bureau and various companies to ask for donations of surplus food or overstock from manufacturers, farmers and restaurants.

"Last week, I was all over the state: Orange and Oswego counties (visiting onion farmers for donations), the Adirondack Park visiting Kraft Foods and various cheese producers, and soon a trip to the Southern Tier to talk about farm donations," he said.

"I am dependent on farm donations as well as prepared food donations," he said, noting that now is a prime time for success. "It is harvest season."

Meanwhile, he said, "Hunger never takes a vacation."

"I do public speaking to make people aware of the food bank," Evers said. "Many people confuse us with a food pantry."

The nonprofit Food Bank Association receives U.S. Department of Agriculture surplus commodities, like corn and beans and also collects supplies of bread, fruit and vegetables.

Every food bank has a kitchen where soup kitchen cooks are trained on how to prepare foods that may not be familiar, like rutabagas.

In serving as a distribution agency, it sends what it collects to smaller organizations that make the food available to families. Up to half the people who rely on food donations are children, he said.

The food banks have large refrigerated rooms for fresh items like produce and dairy items, but most of their storage space is for nonperishable items. "Shelf-stable commodities are our staple," Evers said. "They are easy to share, easy to ship."

"We arrange for trucks to pick up food from donors and drop it off at the food bank," he said. "It is a two-pronged mission: We cut down on waste. And we feed the hungry."

Last year, in helping to feed 2.1 million people, the organization distributed 155 million pounds of food through 5,000 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other emergency feeding programs

In addition to edibles, the food bank also collects soap, diapers, shampoo, toothbrushes and personal hygiene items. This month, the warehouse in Latham still had back-to-school supplies. Evers' efforts are already producing results. The food banks have about half a million pounds more than they did before he came on board, he said.

But the challenges are also growing. "We get less and less through the federal government," Evers said. "Gasoline has gone up. Inflation goes up. Our purchasing power goes down."

But he remains an optimist, confident that the organization serves people well. "It is a well-oiled machine," Evers said.

Full article in Albany Times Union can be found at:

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=630414&category=CARINGCOL&BCCode=&newsdate=10/22/2007

Governor Eliot Spitzer today (9/19/07) announced the members of the New York State Council on Food Policy, which he established earlier this year. Members of the Council will work to establish new food policies for the state that will help ensure the availability of safe, fresh, nutritious and affordable food for all New Yorkers, especially low income individuals, senior citizens and children.

The Council will make recommendations to the Governor on state regulations, legislation and budget proposals in the area of food policy to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive inter-agency approach to state food policy issues. It is also tasked with identifying ways to increase the sale of New York agricultural products, with an emphasis on expanding the consumer market for locally-grown and organically-grown food. The Council will deliver a written annual report to the Governor.

“This Council will help the state coordinate its food-related policies and promote healthier communities,” said Governor Spitzer. “The members of this Council will bring new and diverse expertise to this important policy area and I thank them for agreeing to serve.”

The New York State Council on Food Policy includes representatives from all areas of the food system and will be chaired by New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker. Members include:

Linda Bopp, Executive Director of the Nutrition Consortium of New York State
Bruce Both, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union; Local 1500
Michael Burgess, Director of the Office for the Aging
Dr. Richard Daines, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health
Raymond Denniston, Food Service Director of the Johnson City Central School District and Co-Chair of the New York State Farm to School Coordinating Committee
Diane Eggert, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Federation of New York
John Evers, Executive Director of the Food Bank Association of New York State
Daniel Gundersen, Upstate Chair of Empire State Development Corporation
David Hansell, Commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
Dr. Susan Henry, Dean of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Richard Mills, Commissioner of the State Education Department
Cathryn Mizbani, Senior Extension Administrator and WIC Program Coordinator of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Schenectady County
William Rapfogel, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Metrpolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
Irwin Simon, Founder, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
Julie Suarez, Director of Public Policy for the New York Farm Bureau
Mary Warr Cowans, RD, CDN, and Associate Director of the Division of Nutrition at the New York State Department of Health
Eleanor Wilson, Corporate Dietician for Price Chopper Supermarkets, Inc.
Catherine Young, New York State Senator

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said, “The food industry is quite complex, and I am honored to lead this group of professionally diverse leaders and experts in the arena of food and agriculture. The experience and insightfulness of those on this Council make me confident that we will be effective in finding new and creative ways to improve our food systems for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”

The Council will hold its first meeting next month in Albany.

2,755 Pounds Donated by Farmers/Venders

In response to request for donations from venders and exhibitors, the Farmers Market Federation (led by Diane Eggert), the Pride of New York, and other venders, generously provided the Food bank Association and the Food Bank of Central NY with 2,755 pounds of fresh produce at the close of the State Fair on September 3rd.

Over the past few years the food banks of New York State have made a concerted effort to increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables provided to the 5,000 food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters across the state. With the establishment of the Food Bank Association of New York State in November 2006 partnerships have been established with various agriculture groups in efforts to feed the hungry in healthier ways.  Our Association, representing all of the state’s members of America’s Second Harvest -The Nation’s Food Bank Network, strives to end hunger in New York State by placing a renewed focus on fresh and locally grown produce.  We find ourselves constantly telling people that it is not just canned and dry goods that are distributed to help feed the hungry – but also fresh, nutritious, and locally grown fruits and vegetables.  In fact, there is a renewed focus at the food banks to provide as much fresh fruit and vegetables in order to address some of the grave issues facing the hungry -- particularly children -- such as childhood obesity, malnutrition, vitamin-deficient diets, and the corresponding illness linked to bad eating habits. 

Partnerships with the Farmers' Market Federation, Pride of New York, and the Department of Agriculture & Markets can only serve to strengthen bonds that will help feed the hungry by providing the freshest, locally grown fruits and vegetables.  For more information access The Farmers Market Federation web site article on the State Fair:  http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/pdf2007/newsletterfall07.pdf

 

Buffalo faces huge poverty level - Rochester and Syracuse at same poverty percentage

Buffalo is the second-poorest big city in the nation, new estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau show. Nearly 30 percent of its residents are considered poor. Only Detroit has higher poverty among American cities with populations of more than 250,000. While sobering, the numbers don’t begin to tell the whole story. For that, you need to look at the faces of the parents struggling to afford school supplies. Or listen to the single mother living on child support while attending college. Or talk to the frustrated retiree earning less than $10,000 a year in Social Security benefits.

“There is poverty in Buffalo, but nobody is doing anything about it,” said James Murdock, 67. Murdock retired from his job at a car wash due to illness and now collects $740 a month in Social Security. He lives on the top floor of a church on Broadway. “They’re not doing anything to bring industry back into Buffalo,” Murdock lamented Wednesday, “and it seems like nobody’s worried about it.”

Buffalo’s poverty isn’t an easy situation to crawl out from under.New estimates also show Buffalo’s median income of $27,850 is the third lowest in the U.S. among large cities, just ahead of Miami and Cleveland. Meanwhile, the nation’s median income is on the rise, and the poverty rate actually declined for the first time this decade, dipping slightly to 12.3 percent, according to the Census estimates. The poverty rate for the entire Buffalo Niagara region is 14.2 percent.

It’s no secret upstate New York’s economy has fared poorly compared with the rest of the nation, said Richard Deitz, regional economist at the Buffalo branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Its cities, he said, are being hardest hit.

The region isn’t growing in population, Deitz said, and as people have left Buffalo for the suburbs, problems like poverty are being concentrated in the city. Buffalo’s not alone. While Rochester and Syracuse weren’t ranked among the nation’s largest cities, the poverty rates in those two cities are almost identical to Buffalo’s. In Rochester, 30 percent of the people are poor, while in Syracuse it’s 29.6 percent. For full article access: http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/151336.html

Food Bank For New York City Urges More Federal Aid

NEW YORK CITY - August 30, a new report by the Census Bureau revealed 151,000 more New Yorkers live in poverty now than in 2000. About one in five city residents will have to make do with less than the federal poverty level of $16,600 per year for a family of three.  Although the number of people living below the federal poverty line decreased slightly nationwide, it went up in New York city. The number of people in poverty has risen in every borough except Manhattan and over one millions people per year seek food assistance at pantries and soup kitchens.

Research conducted by the Food Bank For New York City showed that the number of residents who experienced difficulty affording food increased 16% from 2.6 million in 2005 to almost 3 million last year. This, concludes the Food Bank, is hardly surprising "given that the Consumer Price Index for the cost of food at home in the New York metro area increased more than 10% from 2003 to 2006."

This makes strengthening federal programs as food stamps and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) all the more urgent. According to Aine Duggan, the Food Bank’s vice president of government relations, cutbacks in TEFAP funding have left the city's soup kitchens and food pantries with much less resources. "In addition," Duggan said, "hundreds of thousands of city residents are eligible for food stamps but not enrolled in the program." For more on this topic access: http://www.nydailynews.com/index.html

Capital Region and Childhood Hunger Prevention

Soon, children all across the Capital Region will return to school. While many children will complain about losing their summer freedom, for others, school is the only place where they are guaranteed a meal.

On the first day, children experiencing hunger will have already fallen behind. They will have more difficulty concentrating in class, be sick more often during the school year, and be less likely to excel academically.

Proper nutrition plays a vital role in the growth and development of children, particularly low-income children. According to Hunger in America 2006, a comprehensive profile of the incidence and nature of hunger and food insecurity in the United States prepared by America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network, 62 percent of all client households with children younger than 18 participated in a school lunch program. But only 13.4 percent participated in a summer feeding program.

We can solve child hunger in our community. Regardless of our professions or political beliefs, we need to join together to ensure that all children get the nutritious meals they need every day. Together, we can create a hunger-free America.

MARK QUANDT

Executive Director

Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York

Latham

markq@regionalfoodbank.net