New York was the first American epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis is causing major disruptions to our food system and is exacerbating poverty and food inequity across the state. According to Hunger Free America, NYC food insecurity estimates range from 1.6 to 2.2 million -- a significant increase from pre-COVID rate. In the rural parts of the state, farmers are experiencing falling commodity prices, a loss of direct marketing opportunities and uncertainty around whether there will be enough labor to harvest food later in the season. According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, farmers that rely on local and regional direct markets could lose up to $1 Billion this year as a result of COVID-19. Now more than ever, New York City needs local leadership that understands the importance of food justice and food equity in achieving a healthier, just, more sustainable, and economically viable city.

In response, we’ve created the New York COVID-19 Food Coalition: a diverse multi-sector group of food system stakeholders including frontline nonprofits and CBOs. The mission of this coalition is to identify and advocate for public policies and funding that not only respond to today’s crisis, but also address the vulnerabilities and injustices of the current food system. Our coalition promotes equity, collaboration, and inclusion in COVID-19 responses to ensure communities of color and other systemically under resourced communities benefit from the recovery and prosperity following the crisis. For a list of coalition participants and platform signatories, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

The New York COVID-19 Food Coalition was launched and is coordinated by Equity Advocates and is lead by a steering committee including representatives from Hunger Free America, City Harvest, Food Bank for NYC and UJA-Federation. For questions about the coalition, please email Equity Advocates' Policy Director Gabrielle Blavatsky at gabrielle [at] nyequityadvocates.org.

Our coalition is advocating for resources to ensure that the local food system and supply chain remains intact, that all families are able to access the food and support they need, and that front line community embedded organizations can respond effectively to the crisis. We call upon our representatives and policy makers across New York City and State to work collaboratively with our community to direct resources and support towards the following recommendations to ensure an equitable recovery from the crisis.

New York City 10 Year Food Policy Plan

Based on the impact and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic on our communities and our collective food systems experience, The New York COVID-19 Food Coalition collaborated to develop the following recommendations to inform the New York City 10 Year Food Policy Plan led and developed by the NYC Mayor's Office of Food Policy.

NY COVID-19 Food Coalition 10 Year NYC Food Policy Plan Recommendations

Short Term COVID-19 Response Recommendations

City

1. Provide additional resources to emergency food providers to meet the unprecedented demand for their services:

• Allocate resources to connect NYC nonprofits with seniors and other vulnerable populations in need of food by fully funding discretionary via Council Members, Caucuses and Delegations in FY21 and FY22. Numerous NY based CBOs and emergency food providers are well equipped and eager to prepare and deliver food and prepared meals to seniors and other vulnerable populations right now. City Council Discretionary Funding often represents a large portion of small community based nonprofits’ budgets, many of which are led by, serve and are embedded in communities of color. This support from the city is now more critical than ever as demand for emergency services has increased significantly since the start of the pandemic.

2. Streamline application process for public benefits on the City level.

• Enable all eligible people to obtain the multiple benefits for which they are eligible through a single, easy-to-complete, application, available online in paper form and by phone. In addition, contact information for CBOs should be included in Access NYC and Access HRA to better support the increased need for enrollment assistance in social programs like SNAP and WIC.

3. Invest in NYC businesses and infrastructure to support local economy, jobs and get food to vulnerable populations

• Provide additional funding to the NYC Small Business Continuity Fund and prioritize food businesses. Small food retail businesses across the city have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. Due to overwhelming demand, NYC’s Small Business Services is no longer taking applications for its Small Business Continuity Fund. The City should provide additional funds and potentially staff to reopen the fund and meet demand and prioritize black, brown and immigrant owned businesses. In addition, the City should provide technical assistance and outreach in all the major languages to small food retailers to help them access these City loans. This is especially critical as bodegas, street vendors and other small businesses owners have reported problems trying to access and apply to federal loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

• Prioritize contracts to NYC based food and hospitality businesses, including nonprofits, to serve meals to vulnerable populations. The city recently awarded a contract to Sodexo—one of the world’s largest mulit-national corporations, headquartered in France—to supply meals to NYC Hotels that are housing first responders. City food service contracts like this should instead be awarded to NYC based food businesses and hospitality groups to preserve local jobs and keep more money circulating in the local economy. When new contracts are released, the application process should be streamlined and prioritize Women and Minority Owned Businesses. The City should also consider providing additional funding to food access and nutrition education CBOs that already have contracts with the City to do this work.

4. Extend and provide more input and transparency into NYC Food Czar Team’s Work.

• • We call on the Food Czar Team to publish report on the outcomes and impact of programs to date. According to the Comptroller’s office, over $400 million has been allocated to be spent on various emergency food activities being overseen by the Food Czar team since the start of COVID-19. Yet, little to no information has been made available to advocates or City Council on the details of these activities in the weekly calls they’ve been holding. In order to improve transparency and access how equitable the Administration’s response has been to this crisis, we call on the Food Czar team to publish a report within the next three months that includes data on: 1) Where have 311 requests for food been coming from by zip code/neighborhood 2) Where GetFood portal deliveries have been going by zip code/neighborhood 3) What orgs/businesses have received contracts to do food deliveries through GetFood Portal 4) What kind of food has been delivered through the GetFood Portal by zip code/neighborhood? 5) Whether the existing grab and go meal sites meeting needs and the participation levels at each site.

  • Keep Get Food Deliveries going through the end of the Fiscal Year for vulnerable populations. Along with deliveries provide information on how participants can access additional nutrition benefit programs. Publish a transition plan for what will happen to the Get Food Portal and deliveries once pandemic is over.

5. Support community gardens and urban farms so they can feed communities in need during this crisis.

• • We urge the NYC Government’s GreenThumb Office and the Parks Department to negotiate a better Community Garden License Agreement. The current license agreement is flawed and inconsistent and many community gardens have refused to sign them. Some of these gardens have had their water cut off by the City as a result and are unable to grow or distribute food directly to their communities or operate their CSA programs. We ask for the following changes to be made to the license agreements quickly so gardens can support communities in crisis and prepare for next growing season:

    • 1. Remove the Termination-at-Will clause and clarify that only current default will cause the NYC Parks Commissioner to deny to renew or terminate a License.

      2. Remove the Assumption of Risk clause and the sole liability placed on the community gardens and have NYC Parks purchase liability insurance for the community gardens.

      3. Remove the community gardeners' blanket Waiver of their Right to a Trial by Jury clause.

      4. Fix the event permitting requirements and the inconsistent language between the License, the Handbook, and the Parks Rules & Regulations.

• We call upon NYC Council to pass Int.1653-2019 to permit the sale of agriculture within community gardens and require the Department of Parks and Recreation to collect and report data regarding community gardens. This bill would not only help community gardens and gardeners become more self-sufficient, but would also create new healthy food retail outlets in underserved communities.

• Restore curbside brown bin composting program - We were pleased to see that the NYC Council restored $2.9 Million in the FY21 budget for community composting. However, if NYC is to meet its climate goals and zero waste goals, it must reinstate and fully fund the curbside composting program.

6. Expand, promote and streamline students’ access to food.

1. • The City should allocate additional funding to HRA and 311 to ensure these agencies have enough resources to promote and educate New Yorkers about Pandemic-EBT and other social safety net programs. CBOs and EFPs are already over capacity and under-resourced. The City should take responsibility for conducting direct outreach to families eligible for P-EBT and educating them about the program. In addition, the City should prepare FAQ info to customer service representatives at 311 and HRA about the program so they can answer incoming questions and direct people to the new OTDA hotline.

State

1. Increase support for NYS Emergency Feeding Initiatives

• Establish Nourish New York as a permanent part of the state’s hunger response. We applaud Gov. Cuomo for establishing Nourish New York to help connect farmers and families struggling with the changes brought on by COVID-19. Unfortunately, as this public health and economic crisis continues to unfold, there will be an ongoing need for fresh products at food banks and pantries and support for NYS producers. We call upon the state to codify Nourish NY to make it a regular part of the state’s hunger response and ensure it has continued funding beyond the initial $25M commitment.

• Increase HPNAP funding to $51M - Increase funding for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) in the Fiscal Year 2022 State budget to $51 million to adjust for rising food costs and increased need. Increase funding for administrative and operational support for the program.

• Provide funding to develop intermediary processing for NYS Farm Goods in lower Hudson Valley. In the event that locally produced foods can not be sold, they could be processed into a usable/storable form for food banks and pantries to use and distribute.

2. Increase transparency of and access to federal COVID-19 spending programs

• We call on the Governor's Office to produce a report on where federal funding - including FEMA, Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), CARES Act (H.R. 748) and other stimulus funding- is being spent and administered on the state level to increase transparency and accountability into the government's response to COVID-19.

• Ensure nonprofits remain open and solvent during this crisis by helping community based organizations that prepare and distribute food to vulnerable populations access federal COVID-19 funding. The distribution of Federal emergency funding coming into the state from FEMA and from the federal stimulus bills should be prioritized for frontline non-profit organizations working to feed communities in need. This funding should help cover the increased costs of their operations, staff time and food. The State should ensure that the application process for these funds is easy, streamlined and widely advertised to these community based organizations. In addition, identify a single point person that nonprofits can go to discuss and apply to these funding opportunities.

3. Increase New Yorkers' awareness of and access to federal nutrition programs

• Submit a plan to the USDA that will allow New Yorkers to apply for several safety net and nutrition programs and services simultaneously across the State. Develop a state level plan to Integrate outreach by CBOs and State Agencies to eligible communities for a variety of short and long term public benefits including SNAP, WIC, Unemployment and TANF. Include all efforts by non-profits to do SNAP and other benefits enrollment in OTDA’s SNAP outreach plan to be submitted to USDA to maximize the federal reimbursements from that work.

• Increase funding for WIC Help NY Program managed by Hunger Solutions NY to educate potential WIC program participants and retailers, enroll people, develop a coordinated WIC plan for the entire state

• Improve the registration and technology for retailers to make processing EBT transactions for multiple programs (including SNAP, WIC, and P-EBT) easier and more streamlined.

• Finalizing pilot program for accepting electronic WIC at Farmers Markets. Act on recommendations and learnings from the pilot to quickly roll out equipment and technology at farmers markets for accepting electronic WIC across the state. Provide funding to Farmers’ Market to purchase needed technology to farmers and promote the program.

• Work with USDA to establish a pilot program to accept WIC benefits online.

• Ensure that OTDA establishes and publishes a policy in next 30 days to make more college students eligible for essential SNAP benefits. We applaud the governor for including in his FY21 state budget plan a request to OTDA to create a state policy that allows community college students engaged in at least half time career and technical education to be exempt from requirements to work 20 hours per week to qualify for SNAP benefits. OTDA has yet to release this policy directive despite the fact that hunger is skyrocketing due to the economic and health crisis of COVID-19. We call upon the agency to immediately publish this directive.

Federal

1. Support local economies by helping farmers impacted by COVID-19 find new markets, retain workers and access emergency funding.

• USDA should direct $9.5B in Disaster Relief Funding established in the CARES Act to purchase products from farmers to help them connect and distribute food to EFPs, retailers and consumers in urban areas. COVID-19 and the PAUSE rules have led to a major loss of business from schools, restaurants and institutions for farmers who are now in dire need of financial help to weather this crisis. The USDA should utilize funds set aside in the CARES Act to purchase fruit and vegetable, dairy and livestock, and seafood products from farmers that are dumping their products for distribution through the Emergency Food System. In addition, USDA should use these funds to help farmers connect directly to consumers, farmers markets, distributors, supermarkets, bodegas and other retail outlets in urban areas. This program should prioritize small and midsize farmers as well as farmers of color and include urban farms.

2. Direct resources for nonprofits, small businesses and front line food access organizations to help preserve jobs, boost local economy serve low income and communities of color

• Pass H.R. 6384 to connect restaurants with CBOs that distribute meals to low-income and other vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 crisis. This bill introduced by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY-7) would provide community-based nonprofit feeding and anti-hunger groups with funding to partner with small and mid-sized restaurants to expand meal access and delivery for low-income and vulnerable populations during a pandemic or public health emergency.

• Pass a federal stimulus package that provides hazard pay for essential workers, including food supply chain and retail workers. Ensure this pay is tied to regional cost of living and is paid to employers as a pass-through to reach undocumented workers.

• Increase funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) for food banks, allow pantries to utilize distribution funds for salaries or volunteer stipends and waive all state and local match requirements for these expenses.

3. Strengthen and expand access to federal nutrition programs

• Boost SNAP benefits and stop harmful changes to the SNAP program. The Phase 4 package for COVID-19 relief (the CARES Act) should 1) boost the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent; (2) increase the monthly minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30; and (3) place a hold on harmful rules proposed by the Executive Branch, including the Public Charge Rule, that have reduced SNAP eligibility and benefits.

• Expand online SNAP Pilot and SNAP food delivery services. New York is one of the six states that allow SNAP participants to use benefits online. Therefore, we urge the USDA to expand the pilot nationwide and approve farmers and more grocery retailers to accept online SNAP benefits to ensure that more SNAP participants around the country can safely receive grocery deliveries at home during this crisis. Along with the six Senators from the States where the pilot currently exists, we urge Amazon and Walmart, along with other online retailers participating in USDA’s pilot program, to waive delivery fees and minimum order requirements for SNAP recipients. Finally, we ask that USDA offer technical assistance to small and medium sized retailers to help them accept secure online SNAP sales.

• Issue a nationwide waiver for the SNAP-Education (SNAP-Ed) program to provide new flexibility needed to respond to and address the increase in eligible SNAP participants by promoting local food access, healthy eating, and food security through safe nutritious food preparation and distribution. SNAP-Ed providers are well situated to help with food distribution at various sites, including: schools, senior meal sites, and childcare sites. SNAP-ed providers are also well equipped to help with enrollment in P-EBT and other federal nutrition programs, but are unable to do so under existing statutory authority. A nationwide waiver with no match requirement should be issued to allow SNAP-ed providers to this important work. In addition, adequate resources should be provided to develop reports, case studies and best practices.

• Increase funding for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and allow more flexibility in who can be served through the program. During the pandemic, a nationwide waiver should be issued to allow CACFP providers to serve companion meals to the families of CACFP participants. This will help reduce hunger during the pandemic and also reduce the number of trips families in need are making out of the house to acquire food.

Advocacy Accomplishments to Date

City

• The Mayor's Office of Food Policy has committed to incorporating a racial equity framework into the NYC 10 Year Food Policy plan based on feedback from The Coalition.

• The NYC 10 Year Food Policy Plan will be informed by a robust community engagement process developed and held at the recommendation of The Coalition.

• The Coalition's City recommendations were incorporated into The NYC Office of the Public Advocate's Covid-19 Pandemic Preliminary Response & Recovery Report.

• $25 Million in Emergency Funding was distributed to NYC emergency food providers. We successfully advocated for additional funding from New York City for emergency food providers during this crisis and for allowable expenses to include personnel costs, fresh healthy local food and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff.

• Grab and Go Meals sites in NYC will be open through the 2021 school year. The Coalition successfully advocated to ensure there are enough grab and go sites to meet existing and future needs through the end of the 2021 school year for all students at schools across the city as well as 200 meal distribution sites to hand out meals to community members in need.

• Reinstatement and funding for the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) in the NYC Council FY21 Budget. We joined many advocacy groups in support of the #NYCBudgetJustice movement and urged the Administration to commit to fully funding the Summer Youth Employment Program. On July 1st, the NYC Council and the Administration adopted a budget that restored $61 million for the Summer Youth Employment Program which represents 35,000 slots. Although we are grateful to the Administration and the Council for this funding and for their recognition of the important role that this program plays in the lives of young people, the program is currently funded at a rate that will result in 40,000 fewer individuals being served as compared to years past. SYEP provides much-needed income to families, work experience for youth ages 14 to 24 as well as critical support to community-based organizations (CBOs). We urge the Administration to commit to fully fund this program in the next fiscal year by reinvesting NYPD funds and without toxic offsets from other social service programs or regressive taxes in future budget years.

• Allocating resources to connect NYC CBOs with seniors in need of food. Numerous NY based CBOs and EFPs are well equipped and eager to prepare and deliver food and prepared meals to seniors and other vulnerable populations right now. We successfully advocated for the development of an RFI and RFP process to help connect CBOs and communities in need of food through the Get Food Portal (GFP). In addition, we successfully advocated to ensure seniors were only be required to sign up once for meal delivery services through the GFP and to have deliveries should continue until they opt out.

Federal

• USDA approved NY's application for Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT). The Coalition joined many advocacy groups to fight for the extension of the Pandemic-EBT program though the summer to ease the burden on school food authorities, give families more food purchasing power and reduce the number of trips outside the home.

• The US Small Business Administration now allows all farms to be eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) provided in the CARE act. We joined many advocacy groups in successfully advocating for the expansion of the US Small Business Administration's EIDL program to small scale producers, dairy farms and ranches across the state to ensure they can stay in business through this crisis.

Platforms From Other Coalitions we Endorse

We recognize that dismantling systemic oppression, advancing food equity and ensuring families are self sufficient requires a multi-pronged approach, and therefore we actively support the work of other coalitions working to achieve progressive change and anti-racist outcomes in the fields of housing, transportation, fair wages, healthcare, climate and policing.

• Campaign for NY Health

• Citizens Committee for Children

• Coalition on Human Needs

• Housing Justice for All

• NYC Environmental Justice Alliance

• Riders Alliance

• Communities United for Police Reform

Platform Signatories

21 in '21

A Place at the Table

Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation

Bread for the World NY

Brownsville Community Development Corporation

Bronx Eats, Inc.

Bronx Health REACH/Institute for Family Health

Children's Aid

Citizens' Committee for Children of New York

City Harvest

Cleaver Co.

Community Food Advocates

CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

East New York Farms!/United Community Centers

Edible Schoolyard NYC

Equity Advocates

Food Bank for New York City

Food Issues Group

Health Leads

helpNYC

Hunger Free America

Hunger Solutions New York

La Familia Verde Community Garden Coalition

Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy, Teachers College, Columbia University

LiveOn NY

Los Sures/Southside United

New Settlement Apartments

New York City Community Garden Coalition

New York City Council Member Ben Kallos

Red Hook Initiative

RiseBoro Community Partnership

Rockaway Youth Task Force

Swipe Out Hunger

Teens for Food Justice

The Salvation Army

UJA-Federation

United Neighborhood Houses

United Way of New York City

Universe City NYC

West Side Campaign Against Hunger

Wellness in the Schools

Women in Hospitality United