As the city reopens after the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, the battle against food insecurity continues across Queens and the state.
While many of their colleagues in government are relaxing following the frenzied close to the legislative session in Albany on June 10, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz joined forces with two upstate senators at the Queens Museum Thursday, June 17, in support of a measure that would establish a permanent program for distributing surplus agricultural products to food banks, similar to the Nourish New York model, to combat levels of hunger not seen since the Great Recession.
“At the height of the pandemic, food lines stretched for miles with no end in sight and without a permanent or sustainable product source,” Cruz said. “My district was the epicenter of the epicenter, and without a permanent food pantry, we watched as food insecurity issues only became more severe. The bill provides a permanent state pipeline to put food on the table for those that need it most.”
