‘We cannot stand idle’
Queens councilman’s new bill seeks to improve the state of food for city dwellers
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens councilman wants
to improve food equity for people
living in the five boroughs.
Earlier this week, Councilman
Paul Vallone sponsored
a bill seeking to increase the
reporting on the city’s food system.
The new legislation would
require more comprehensive
reporting on changing patterns
of food available in retail
stores, the density of fast food
establishments and metrics on
populations experiencing food
insecurity.
The bill followed a joint hearing
with the Committees on Education
and General Welfare,
which Vallone led as the chair
of the Committee on Economic
Development. The committees
heard a package of 16 bills and
two resolutions to New York
City’s Food Policy.
Vallone’s bill coincided with
Speaker Corey Johnson’s recently
announced food platform
which he unveiled in August.
The plan included expanding
existing food programs and tying
economic opportunity to
farming and nutrition coordinated
by a newly empowered
Office of Food Policy.
Mayor de Blasio’s current
Office of Food Policy publishes
an annual Food Metrics Report,
which addresses food insecurity,
food procurement and service,
access to healthy food and
sustainability. But Vallone’s office
said that the report does not
provide enough information for
the city to effectively tackle food
insecurity.
An example of this is that
the report shows the number of
senior citizens 65 and older who
receive SNAP benefits but does
not outline un-enrolled individuals
who are eligible for public
food programs.
“In the greatest city in the
world, we cannot stand idle
while over one million of our
New Yorkers face food insecurity,”
said Vallone. “This bill will
allow us to take an in-depth look
at food production, distribution
and access in the five boroughs,
a critical step in developing
the equitable and transformative
food policy strategies of
tomorrow. I thank City Council
Speaker Johnson for bringing
attention to this important issue
and I am proud to collaborate
Councilman Paul Vallone wants the city to collect more comprehensive data on food. Courtesy of Vallone’s Offi ce
with him on this impactful
piece of legislation and chair
this vital hearing.”
Under Vallone’s bill, the Office
of Food Policy would report
findings on a neighborhood-byneighborhood
basis. The office
would then use the data to address
gaps in health and food
access and create policies to
better address food governance
and waste, school lunches, urban
agriculture and access to
healthy food.
“The current report provides
a strong overview of the
production, processing, distribution,
and consumption of
food provided by City agencies
to the communities we serve,”
Dr. Erin McDonald, chief strategy
and innovation officer for
the Office of the Deputy Mayor
This bill will allow us to take
an in-depth look at food
production, distribution and
access in the five boroughs.
Paul Vallone
for Health and Human Services,
said during testimony.
“We agree that there is an opportunity
to expand on the data
included and analysis and support
the bill.”
At Wednesday’s hearing,
Manhattan Borough President
Gale Brewer testified on the impact
the new reporting and data
would have on the city providing
better school meals.
“For example, the amount of
money spent on dairy by the Department
of Education is present
but not the amount spent on
meat or baked goods, items that
are consumed in large quantities
and even featured as part
of the OFNS’s (DOE Office of
Food and Nutrition Services)
New York Thursday menu,”
said Brewer. “The reports do
not capture enough data on how
City funds are spent on food
procurement and the methodology
for data collection needs to
be amended accordingly.”
Vallone added, “Our children
cannot learn on an empty
stomach.
An in-depth look at the types
of meals we are providing to
our city’s over 1 million public
school students will help us ensure
our kids are being served
nutritious food that will help
them do their best inside and
outside of the classroom.”
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.com or
by phone at (718) 260-2583.
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