Governor Hochul Awards More Than $7 Million to Food Organizations Through Round 2 of New York Food for New York Families Program

Additional Funding Continues To Boost New York Farmers and Promotes a Resilient Food Supply Chain

Funding Will Implement Projects that Purchase New York Grown Food and Distribute Them to Underserved Communities

Governor Kathy Hochul announced $7.6 million has been awarded to 12 food service organizations across the State through the second round of the New York Food for New York Families program. The program, funded through a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant, provides a boost to New York farmers, increases communities’ access to local foods and further strengthens New York’s food system.

“This additional funding from the New York Food for New York Families Program supports our ongoing efforts to strengthen our food supply chain, increase market access for our farmers and bring more healthy, local food to New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “Our administration has been focused on implementing a number of programs that help to streamline the food system and make sure there is a better and more reliable connection between our farmers and our families in underserved food areas. With this federal funding, we can reach even more communities across New York.”

In 2022, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets was awarded $49.6 million through the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) Program to implement the New York Food for New York Families Program. The program’s goals are to boost traditionally disadvantaged farmers, help producers access new markets, fill gaps in the supply and distribution chain and increase access of underserved communities to local food.

In the first round, the Department awarded $40.8 million to 102 food organizations across the State, including food banks and pantries, schools and universities, farm collectives, medical centers, and a variety of non-profit organizations. These organizations are beginning to implement projects that purchase New York-grown food products and distribute them to underserved communities and are also providing technical assistance to help growers sell their products for use as part of the New York Food for New York Families program.

In this second round, 12 projects have been awarded between $250,000 and $1 million for a total of $7.6 million. The awards are:

• Brooklyn Bureau of Community Services DBA Brooklyn Community Services (New York City), $615,000
• Broome County Council of Churches (Southern Tier), $500,000
• Columbia County Sanctuary Movement (Capital Region), $288,084.42
• Compassion Coalition (Mohawk Valley), $725,000
• Community Health Action of Staten Island (New York City), $352,750
• Food Policy Council of Buffalo and Erie County (Western New York), $1,045,557.89
• Glynwood Center, Inc (Mid-Hudson), $811,460
• Long Island Cares, Inc (Long Island), $650,000
• Schenectady City School District (Capital Region), $297,000
• St. John’s Bread and Life Program, Inc. (New York City), $576,000
• Tenmile Farm Foundation (Mid-Hudson), $854,066.50
• The Research Foundation for SUNY on behalf of University at Buffalo (Western New York), $890,836

New York continues to support several groundbreaking State programs that focus on improving access to locally grown foods through its 2025 Budget, including the Nourish NY program, the 30 percent NYS School Initiative, and the Farm-to School program. Additionally, this year’s Budget included the second round of funding as part of the Regional School Food Infrastructure Fund, which provides $50 million over five years to support regional cooking facilities that will facilitate the use of fresh New York State farm products in meal preparation for K-12 school children.

These investments build on the Governor’s commitment to boost demand for New York agricultural products, bolster New York's food supply chain and ensuring all New Yorkers can produce and access fresh, local foods. This includes the Governor’s Executive Order directing State agencies to increase the percentage of food sourced from New York farmers and producers to 30 percent of their total purchases within five years and raising the discretionary threshold for schools to purchase local food and food products from $20,000 to $150,000, a significant increase from that prior threshold. It also includes a $10 million grant program to support the establishment of farm markets, supermarkets, food cooperatives and other similar retail food stores, along with supporting infrastructure in underserved communities and regions of the State.

New York State continues to prioritize increasing access to food for all New Yorkers through efforts including the enhanced FreshConnect Fresh2You initiative, the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs, the Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grants Programs, and more. Learn about the Department’s programs and initiatives focused on providing new markets for farmers, increasing food access to underserved communities, and building healthier communities.