A statewide food recovery program has redirected 63 million pounds of food to hungry New Yorkers — a milestone reached during Hunger Action Month and Climate Week.
The New York State Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law is credited with dramatically expanding food donations while cutting climate pollution from landfilled waste. The program helps capture surplus food from grocery stores, restaurants, colleges, and other businesses and deliver it to food banks and meal centers across the state.
Feeding New York State, which represents the state’s 10 regional food banks, now receives more than 2.4 million pounds of food each month — a steep rise from just 50,000 to 60,000 pounds monthly when the initiative began in 2021.
The program’s success is supported by $10.8 million in state Environmental Protection Fund grants since 2018, helping to fund staff, transportation equipment, and infrastructure improvements to keep more food moving to where it’s needed most.
In addition to supporting food banks, the state awarded another $4.26 million to 145 emergency food relief organizations, such as pantries and soup kitchens, to expand food cooling and delivery capacity.
Officials say the program not only addresses hunger but also helps reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. As one official put it, turning surplus into sustenance is helping bring the state closer to a hunger-free New York.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].