Food and Farms News: State Wide

Each year, approximately 40% of food produced in the United States is left uneaten, equating to an annual loss of $218 billion, while approximately 2.2 million New Yorkers are food insecure. Across New York State, restaurants alone are estimated to waste around 25.4 billion pounds of food waste, and grocery stores generate around 21 billion pounds. Food waste is also detrimental to the environment, emitting methane and other greenhouse gases when sent to landfills, making up a total of 6-8% of human-caused emissions worldwide. Not only is the food itself wasted when thrown out, but so are the energy and water used to grow and transport it around the world.

We're excited to release our green policy priorities - our 2021 New York State Policy Agenda.

The State Legislature recently passed several of our priority bills that will improve water quality, protect natural areas, remove toxins from our environment, and encourage clean transportation.

The $3 billion Environmental Bond Actwill provide $550 million for open space land conservation and recreation projects if approved by voters this fall.

Two recent UN reports indicate that the world’s ecosystems and climate are already undergoing dramatic change, and that parties to the Paris Agreement have failed to halt greenhouse gas emission growth.

New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund supports a wide variety of environmental projects through four programs, which focus on solid waste, parks and recreation, open space, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.