Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced today $100,000 in federal funding for the Council on the Environment of New York City to revitalize the Wholesale Farmers Market in the Bronx and develop electronic food stamp programs throughout the city’s farmers markets. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Senator Gillibrand said, “We need to ensure that Bronx residents have access to high quality, affordable produce. Federal investment will help the Council on the Environment of New York City green the city’s economy and encourage more Bronx families to buy healthy, organic products directly from farmers.”
“Since I became Speaker, the Council has made expanding access to fresh, healthy and local foods one of our biggest priorities,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “We’ve been proud to partner with CENYC to expend Greenmarkets around the city, and to make sure New Yorkers can use their food stamps to buy nutritious foods. Thanks to this funding from the USDA and Senator Gillibrand, CENYC will be able to increase their efforts and bring healthy, locally grown food to a whole new group of New Yorkers.”
The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) is a non-profit group in the Mayor’s Office. The organization partners with Greenmarket, one of country’s leading farmers market programs serving hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers weekly. Federal funding for CENYC will help the Wholesale Farmers Market promote the benefits of local food to potential buyers and customers in underserved communities. In addition to giving residents and small business owners access to fresh, local produce at wholesale prices, the grant will also implement an electronic debit card program used to purchase food stamps at six Greenmarkets citywide.
Senator Gillibrand is the first New York Senator to sit on the Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years. She is taking a leading role to improve child nutrition and combat child obesity by giving children and families more access to fresh fruits and vegetables grown here in New York. Click here for more on the Senator’s plan to combat childhood obesity.
Senator Gillibrand and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn recently launched a joint effort to improve child nutrition in New York.