Hi Everybody,

I love my job! I get to interview and discuss issues around food, with leaders in their field, all across America and the world! How great is that!

Today, I had the opportunity to talk with Susan Zimet, the Executive Director of Hunger Action Network of NYS, about the hunger problem in New York (and the country) and the ways in which Hunger Action Network is tackling it. Some of the statistics that Susan shared with me are absolutely shocking, and they ways it is being addressed are just as disturbing. Did you know that there are 2.7 million people in NYS that are food insecure? That means they do not know where their next meal is coming from. One in four of those people are children, and if it wasn’t for their free breakfast and lunch in school, they would be starving. She actually shared with me that there is a new epidemic of kids purposely failing school, so that they can go to summer school in order to be fed! She also shared with me that food pantries are now on every state and city college campus, as well as on every military base, because college students and veterans are also among the new population of food insecure. But, food banks and food pantries are not a solution to the hunger problem. They are only a temporary (but necessary) band-aid to a very deep, and complex problem.

The Hunger Action Network of New York State has been instrumental in drafting and pushing through Congress a bill that would give a tax incentive to farmers to donate their surplus and ‘not perfect’ produce to food banks, only to have it vetoed by the Governor. It’s called the Farm to Food Bank Bill, and would award farmers a tax credit for 25% of the value of produce they donate to a food bank. Farmers already donate much of their “going to waste” produce, but this would help them cover the cost of getting the food to the food bank, while keeping it out of a landfill and feeding those that need it at the same time! So far, the bill has full support from Congress, but Governor Cuomo has vetoed the bill twice, and it is coming up for a third vote soon. Let’s send him a clear message! Please sign the petition in support of the Farm to Food Bank Bill, and listen to my interview with Susan Zimet!