Opinion
Let’s put food power in communities’ hands
BY COREY JOHNSON
As human beings, food is what we need to survive
and thrive. But we all know food is more
than just a necessity. It’s a connection to our
families, our culture and to the Earth.
Unfortunately, in our city — one of the richest in
the world — many people don’t have access to adequate,
nutritious food.
More than 1 million New Yorkers are food insecure,
and there is inequitable access to fresh and healthy
food in many neighborhoods throughout the city,
predominantly
in low-income
communit ies
and communities
of color.
That’s why
I recently released
“Growing
Food Equity
in New York
City,” a detailed
report that outlines
the City
Council’s agenda
to tackle the
challenges we
face regarding
food policy.
This report
stems from our
core belief that
access to adequate,
PHOTO BY WILLIAM ALATRISTE / NYC COUNCIL
Speaker Corey Johnson.
nutritious food is a human right.
That means that we have a moral obligation to
build a society where everyone has the fundamental
right to be free from hunger and have access to
healthy food.
Food policy needs to be addressed holistically if
we’re going to achieve that goal, which is why the
City Council will introduce legislation to empower
the Mayor’s Offi ce of Food Policy.
That offi ce is currently too understaffed and under
resourced to appropriately coordinate all of this
city’s vast food policy.
We also need to expand some of our most successful
food programs that not only feed New Yorkers,
but also make sure the food they get is fresh and
healthy.
One example is our Health Bucks initiative, which
provides coupons to low-income New Yorkers to purchase
fruits and vegetables at farmers markets.
The program benefi ts more than just its participants.
Health Bucks encourages participants to shop
at farmers markets, which are an important part of
our local food economy.
Stimulating that economy — which also includes
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs
and fresh-food boxes — is at the heart of what we
need to do to achieve our ambitious food-policy
goals.
I’m also calling for the city to fund a Community
Food Hub Incubator to develop and support even
more local food businesses and farm-to-city projects.
The Council will also consider legislation to create an
Offi ce of Urban Agriculture that will help prioritize
the ecological, economic and health benefi ts of urban
agriculture in our city, including community gardens
agenda — implementing food policies that enrich
our diverse communities.
Food is power. And we want that power in the
hands of the people.
Johnson is speaker of the New York City Council
and represents Council District 3 (Greenwich
Village, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Times Square,
Hudson Square, West Soho, Flatiron and Garment
District).
and urban farms.
Things like local food businesses, CSA’s, farmers
markets and community gardens are integral to our
diverse communities, and as a city we must do everything
we can to help make them a success.
New Yorkers know best what kind of food they
need to sustain themselves and their families physically,
emotionally and culturally. We want a system of
food governance that grows (pun intended) from the
communities themselves.
That’s at the heart of the City Council’s food
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