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Majority Leader Amanda Farías opens hearing on food quality in NYC shelters
0:04:22
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104 sec
Majority Leader Amanda Farías, chair of the committee on economic development, opens a joint hearing on food quality in NYC shelters. She provides context for the hearing, emphasizing the importance of transparency in food procurement and addressing recent reports of food quality issues in the shelter system.
- Highlights the need to examine how the city ensures reliable food quality in shelters
- Mentions previous hearings on shelter food procurement during the 2023 migrant influx
- Acknowledges recent reports of spoiled food, lack of culturally appropriate meals, and alleged financial mismanagement in the shelter system
Amanda Farías
0:04:22
Good morning.
0:04:23
I am majority leader Amanda Fadias and I chair the committee on economic development.
0:04:27
I'd like to thank co chair one for holding this hearing today and I would also like to thank the administration and the public for attending today's important hearing.
0:04:35
Have called today's hearing to discuss how the administration ensures reliable food quality in our city's shelters.
0:04:41
In 2023, at the height of the city's influx of migrants, we held a hearing on shelter food procurement and examined how the city took steps to ensure individuals in our shelter system were being properly cared for and delivered healthy meals.
0:04:55
We believe that increasing transparency in the process of how our city agencies buy, prepare, and serve food to those in our shelter systems is paramount.
0:05:04
Today, we have the mayor's office of food policy present to provide testimony regarding our city's food procurement process and how the city addresses any deficiencies that may lead to the inaccessibility of healthy meals system.
0:05:16
We are also interested in discussing how the mayor's office of food policy coordinates with other city agencies and how these agencies engage and contract with city food vendors.
0:05:26
I also want to acknowledge that there have been recent and continued troubling reports on the mismanagement and the delivery of quality food in our shelter system particularly related to spoiled food, inaccessibility to culturally appropriate meals, and alleged financial mismanagement.
0:05:42
It is our responsibility as the oversight entity of the city to ensure that these issues are addressed and that all individuals in our shelter system are properly cared for.
0:05:52
Before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to thank the Economic Development Committee's staff, counsel Luke Hamill, senior policy analyst William Hungatch, and financial analyst Glenn Martelloni, as well as the Contracts Committee staff for all their hard work on this hearing.
0:06:06
I'll now turn the microphone over to chair one.