ALBANY- New York Farm Bureau (NYFB) members donated nearly 6.4 million pounds of food to regional food banks across the state last year through the Harvest for All program. The number was announced this month at the annual American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) Conference in Jacksonville, FL. That was the second-highest donation total in the country for 2022, behind Florida.
As a result of its efforts, NYFB was awarded a $250 grant which will be donated to Feeding New York State.
The program was also recognized for its 699 hours of volunteer service and for collecting $30,900 in donations last year to the regional food banks across the state.
The “Harvest for All” donation program is a nationwide annual farm donation partnership linking Farm Bureau and Feeding America in each state. In New York, NYFB’s YF&R Committee and Feeding New York State administer the statewide donation partnership. The food is then distributed among the 10 Feeding America food banks throughout the state.
Christina Kohler, New York Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Chair, said, “New York’s farmers have long prioritized helping their communities and people in need all across the state. I would like to thank all of our partners for another successful year of food donations, and we look forward to building a stronger food system in the state to make sure no New Yorker goes hungry. This includes supporting budget funding for the Nourish NY and the Healthy School Meals for All programs that assist every person in our state with putting food on their tables while also lifting up our farming community.”
Dan Egan, Feeding New York State Executive Director said, “Farm donations are at the heart of our work. Our foodbank community is deeply grateful to New York’s generous farmers for their donations of top-quality, healthy food.”
In nearly two decades of work with the Harvest for All Program, farms in New York have given around 127 million pounds of food to support the work by the regional food banks in the state. That translates into around 100 million meals.
