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Foodlink purchases from Nourish New York a win-win for farmers, families
Foodlink purchases from Nourish New York a win-win for farmers, families
Foodlink has purchased 3.6 million pounds of surplus food from farmers in the state over the past year as part of Nourish New York.
The program reroutes surplus food — such as apples, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and potatoes — to food banks and food pantries, which then distribute the goods to area families.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Foodlink has served more than 190,000 households through their drive-thru food distributions. Food was distributed after direct purchase by Foodlink from produce farms and dairy manufacturers across the state, including Kirby’s Farm Market in Brockport, Bushart Farms and Williams Farm in Marion, Callan Farms in Caledonia, Intergrow in Ontario, Wheatfield Gardens in North Tonawanda and Great Lakes Cheese in Cuba.
Foodlink also recently partnered with Byrne Dairy to provide families with weekly boxes of dairy products, including cheddar cheese, sour cream and milk. So far, Foodlink has provided 9,350 dairy boxes to those in need through their drive-thru distributions and food pantry network.
“The Nourish New York program has been tremendously successful in connecting local farms and food producers to communities through food banks, such as Foodlink,” State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said in a news release. “I am grateful for our partnership with Foodlink, which is continuing to build relationships with distributors and farmers in the Finger Lakes region to provide a market for farmers to sell their products and ensure that all New Yorkers have access to fresh, local foods.”
Foodlink is the hub of the emergency food system for the 10-county Finger Lakes region.
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