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QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019
‘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
Councilman Paul Vallone wants the city to collect more comprehensive data on food. Courtesy of Vallone’s office
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
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
by-neighborhood
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 Mc-
Donald, chief strategy and
innovation officer for the
Office of the Deputy Mayor
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.”
This bill will allow us
to take an in-depth look
at food production,
distribution and access in
the five boroughs.
Paul Vallone