Utica, NY — What if every resident of Oneida County had access to fresh, safe, locally produced food that is distributed in a just and sustainable manner? What if farming, food processing/distribution and culinary tourism were engines for the economic rebirth of Upstate New York? What if we could do all of this while contributing to a healthy environment, fighting diet related illnesses and creating “green collar” jobs that can’t be outsourced?

Today, Rust To Green Utica announced the creation and kick off meeting of New York State’s first local Food Policy Council to work toward these goals.

Spearheaded by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County and Rust To Green Utica, the Utica/Oneida County Food Policy Council is a coalition of city and county governments in concert with over two dozen not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, community coalitions, private sector businesspeople, farmers and local citizens.

“Food is a basic human need along with adequate shelter, a safe environment and clean water. Yet, our local governments in New York have no comprehensive planning process to ensure access to healthy foods for all residents. No local government has a ‘Department of Food’ and the programs that address hunger, nutrition, agriculture and food sector labor conditions are spread across many agencies and jurisdictions. Systemic problems such as hunger, nutrition and agricultural sustainability can be better addressed with a more coordinated approach. In short, we can do more together than alone”, said Ron Bunce, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County.

The goals of the Food Policy Council are to decrease food insecurity, improve health, and increase the sustainability and profitability of our local and regional food system. The Council will undertake a comprehensive food system assessment in order to identify priority areas for developing policy and program recommendations, educating and engaging the public, leveraging resources for food system improvements, and strengthening linkages among food system components to develop a plan to achieve a hunger-free community.

“Food Policy Councils are popping up across the Country to strengthen markets for farms of all sizes, create viable retail and institutional markets, improve the environment and public health and most importunately, to improve access to healthy, locally grown food for everyone,” said Jamie Vanucchi, Cornell University instructor and Rust To Green Project co-creator.

Specific tasks of the Food Policy Council will include:

-Supporting and developing creative food resources, such as community gardens, food cooperatives, community-owned and operated grocery stores, and farmers’ markets
-Coordinating food services with park and recreation programs and other community-based outlets to reduce barriers to access
-Creating nutrition education programs for at risk populations to enhance food-purchasing and food preparation skills and to heighten awareness of the connection between diet and health
-Supporting and developing sustainable networks for distributing food
-Providing outreach and assistance to increase participation in existing nutrition assistance programs
-Conducting survey research or other data collection activities to assess the extent and causes of hunger in the community
-Resource mapping to identify available assets and gaps in resources necessary to end hunger in the community
-Developing tools to assess hunger on a one time or continual basis
-Planning activities

“We see this as an innovative, grassroots solution to our food crisis. The USDA recently reported that over 49 million people in the U.S. are now ‘food insecure’. Locally, we know that the use of food stamps is growing rapidly, and our food banks are serving record numbers of people –many from working families– who just can’t make ends meet anymore. Additionally, the prevalence of chronic diseases that are caused and/or complicated by malnourishment is growing astronomically. This is creating a pandemic that reaches even our youngest people, and has placed strains on the current long-term care system. The Food Policy Council will help us ‘connect the dots’ between the growing number of local food initiatives for just, healthy food systems. We all feel like its time to roll up our sleeves and dig in to help to make this a reality,” said Debra Richardson of RCIL’s Leaf, Loaf and Ladle.