ALBANY – Assemblywoman Didi Barrett (D, Hudson) has signed onto a proposal before the New York City Council to secure a long-term food source for all city residents by investing in Hudson Valley farms and farmland.
The proposal, supported by 14 city council members would invest $5 million in the budget to protect regional farms that deliver food to underserved neighborhoods throughout the city.
Barrett said New York should invest in local agriculture just as it has invested in the New York City water supply in the Hudson Valley and Catskills.
“It means investing in conservation easements and other protections for other Hudson Valley farms so that New York City communities can know that they will have fresh, nutritious local food for their families for their families for the future and for generations to come,” she said. “Obviously it is a great benefit for us in the Hudson Valley to have that kind of investment and to have it recognized that our smaller and mid-sized farms are the source of feeding so many New York City families.”
New York City Councilman Dan Garodnick said conserving farmland in the Hudson Valley “is critical to ensuring that New York City has a sustainable regional food system.”
