Governor Hochul Announces $10 Million to Expand Access to Food for All New Yorkers

Food Access Expansion Grant Program Supports Development and Expansion of Supermarkets, Food Co-ops, Farm Stands and More

Builds on Governor’s Commitment to Enhance Access to Food in Underserved Communities

Enhances Affordability for New York Families and Strengthens the Food Supply Chain While Providing a Boost to New York Farmers

Announcement Follows Governor’s Warning to New Yorkers About the Impact of Federal Cuts to SNAP Benefits can be Viewed Here

Governor Kathy Hochul announced $10 million through the State’s Food Access Expansion Grant Program to increase food access for New Yorkers living in areas with limited options for affordable, fresh food. The program provides funding to nine organizations across the state to support the development and expansion of supermarkets, food cooperatives, permanent farm stands, mobile markets, and other retail food stores in underserved regions while also increasing markets for New York farmers. This announcement follows Governor Hochul’s warning to New Yorkers regarding the impact of federal cuts to the SNAP program on New York’s agricultural industries and vulnerable families. Funding for the State’s Food Access Expansion Grant program was included in the 2024 Enacted Budget and builds on Governor Hochul’s goal to enhance affordability for New York families, boost demand for New York agricultural products, bolster New York's food supply chain, and ensure all New Yorkers have access to fresh, local foods.

“I am committed to ensuring that all New Yorkers, especially those in underserved areas, have access to affordable, healthy, local foods,” Governor Hochul said. “I know that the projects awarded through our Food Access Expansion Grant Program will make a significant impact in this space and ensure that our families can put fresh, New York made foods on the table, while supporting our agricultural community at the same time.”

Administered by the Department of Agriculture and Markets, funding through the Food Access Expansion Grant Program was available to eligible entities for projects aiming to increase the availability of food, whether through construction of a new retail store, the purchase of equipment to improve food and meals offered, the creation or expansion of mobile markets, and more. The program was developed following a Request for Interest (RFI), which gathered input from stakeholders to guide the Department on how best to shape the program.

Below is a list of awarded projects:

• The Adirondack North Country Association (North Country) - $468,576 to partner with The ADK Food Hub and Whitten Family Farm to increase the availability and distribution of food throughout the North Country. The project will construct a new processing kitchen and retail store in St. Lawrence County. This will help to expand a permanent farmstand, allowing for food processing and sale of processed products from other farms, including milk, yogurt, cheese, salads, frozen vegetables, baked foods, pickles, and jams. The Real Food Hub will result in a building that offers climate-controlled storage, a processing kitchen, loading dock, and retail storefront.
• Broome County Council of Churches Inc. (Southern Tier) - $1,553,688 to partner with members of their task force including the City of Binghamton, Broome County, Eden Food for Changes, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and others to renovate an existing building to include a new commercial kitchen, and to purchase and customize a new Mobile Market Bus. The new kitchen will be used to produce SNAP-eligible prepared meals for retail sale at the Greater Good Grocery and in the Mobile Market Bus.
• Buffalo Go Green Inc. (Western New York) - $809,932 to implement building renovations for a market, commercial kitchen, and juicery, including dry and cold storage and a loading dock to be used by their mobile market. The project will result in a commercial kitchen, juicery, food retail space, and 3,500 square feet of cold and dry storage on Buffalo’s Eastside to expand and support their mobile markets.
• The City of Schenectady (Capital Region) - $2,100,000 to partner with Electric City Community Grocery, Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority, and National Co+op Grocers to open a new grocery store and co-op in downtown Schenectady. The project will result in the renovation of an existing building into a cooperative food store. The City of Schenectady is providing a $1 million grant toward project costs.
• Foodlink Inc. (Finger Lakes) - $291,420 to expand its Curbside Market program in Monroe County through the construction of a commercial warehouse for loading and unloading Curbside Market vehicles with storage space for product. The project will additionally fund the purchase of a new Curbside Market vehicle.
• The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (Western New York) - $265,973 to expand critical infrastructure for the UB Veggie Van mobile market by purchasing and customizing a new market vehicle and expanding cold and dry storage infrastructure. The project will result in shared infrastructure that addresses food insecurity across the University of Buffalo and Buffalo State campuses.
• Riseboro Community Partnership Inc. (New York City) - $2,134,720 to partner with the Central Brooklyn Food Coop to lease 10,000 square feet of a new development project for grocery retail and food storage. Funds will be used for excavation costs and the retail fit-out of the co-op. Riseboro will partner with Brooklyn Packers to source food from New York farms.
• Syracuse Economic Development Corporation (Central New York) - $1,719,000 to partner with the City of Syracuse, Ellicott Development Company, Super Imperial Market, and Food Access Healthy Neighborhoods Now to renovate and reopen the Valley Plaza Grocery Store on the Southside of Syracuse that has been vacant since 2018. The project will result in 22,000 square feet of retail food space bringing fresh produce, meats, and prepared foods to the neighborhood and grocery delivery for seniors.
• Tri Corner Food Equity, Education & Distribution (Mid-Hudson) - $656,690 to purchase and renovate an existing building that includes walk-in refrigeration, refrigeration and freezer displays, and bakery display cases. The new Fair Food Grocery Store will result in 2,080 square feet of retail space, a commercial kitchen, and café space.

The Food Access Expansion Grant Program is one initiative in an array of programs implemented by New York State to build a more resilient food system. New York continues to support several groundbreaking programs that focus on improving access to locally grown foods including through its 2026 Budget, including the Nourish NY program, the 30 Percent NYS Initiative for school meals, and the Farm-to-School program. Additionally, this year’s Budget included the third round of funding as part of the Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program, 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 ensure all New Yorkers can access fresh, local foods. This includes the Governor’s Executive Order 32 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. The Governor has also committed $25 million toward the New York State Grown & Certified Infrastructure, Technology, Research and Development Grant Program to assist food producers, processors, distributors, and others using New York ingredients to bring innovative NYS Grown & Certified products to market.

New York State continues to prioritize increasing access to food for all New Yorkers through a number of programs and initiatives, including the enhanced FreshConnect Fresh2You initiative, the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs, the Urban Farms and Community Gardens Grants Programs, and more. Governor Hochul recently announced $13.7 million in funding for 19 projects statewide through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Program to provide capital and technical assistance to farmers and food businesses operating at the middle of the supply chain, helping to enhance coordination throughout the food system and improve access to markets for farmers. This investment will help connect the dots between our state’s food producers and retail operations.

According to a report from the Office of the State Comptroller, between 2019 and 2021, approximately 10 percent of New Yorkers, or approximately 800,000 households, experienced food insecurity and struggled with food affordability.

Governor Hochul sounded the alarm on how the Republican budget reconciliation bill will affect the Nation’s largest food assistance program, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), undermining a program that millions of New Yorkers rely on to put food on the table every single day. Estimates indicate the reconciliation bill would shift exorbitant costs to states across the country, including New York, where an additional $2.1 billion would be imposed on State and local county governments that administer the program.

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