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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Nicholas Buess, Director of Government Relations at Food Bank for New York City
3:01:19
·
105 sec
Nicholas Buess from Food Bank for New York City expresses gratitude for the council's commitment to addressing food insecurity and emphasizes the critical role of food pantries and soup kitchens. He highlights the importance of the Community Food Connection Program and the need for continued support in light of federal funding uncertainties.
- Acknowledges the council's inclusion of $100 million baseline funding for the Community Food Connection Program
- Expresses concern about the suspension of 2 million meals from the USDA
- Stresses the importance of fortifying the network of food pantries to ensure they have adequate supplies
Nicholas Buess
3:01:19
Hi.
3:01:19
Good afternoon.
3:01:20
I'm Nick Buse from the Food Bank for New York City.
3:01:23
Thank you chair for your continued commitment to addressing food insecurity in New York.
3:01:29
Thank you to the council for continuing to stand up for specifically food pantries and soup kitchens across our city.
3:01:36
We want to recognize, acknowledge, and thank the council for including $100,000,000 of baseline food funding for the Community Food Connection Program.
3:01:46
You saw it this morning on the steps.
3:01:48
Food pantries and soup kitchens are worried.
3:01:51
We're worried because we stand in the gap.
3:01:54
That's what council member member Banks was asking.
3:01:57
Who stands in the gap when when SNAP's not available?
3:01:59
Food pantries stand in the gap.
3:02:01
It's the last best option for our for our community members.
3:02:04
You know this.
3:02:05
But we need to make sure that that our that our community based food programs have the support, have the capacity support and have the food support available, particularly in the face of what's happening in the federal government.
3:02:19
We can't retroactively eat.
3:02:21
So even if things are moving around, even if we are successful in receiving more food from the USDA, today we have 2,000,000 meals that are suspended from the USDA.
3:02:33
We have to fortify our network so that we can make sure that food pantries have the supply they need.
3:02:41
So I have a little bit more details in the written testimony, but I just want to say close by saying that the city council's food pantry initiative and emergency funding food programs is an essential part of our need in the next year as well, given these uncertainties.
3:03:03
Thank you.