The Hunger Action Network of New York State (HANNYS) has awarded funds for seven projects that will strengthen low-income New Yorkers’ access to fresh, nutritious and locally grown food. Each project will be carried out in a different county by a non-profit or community-based organization, bringing new resources to Western New York, the Southern Tier, Central New York, the Capital District and New York City. While the projects are each unique, they share a common goal: to end hunger in New York by increasing low-income people’s ability to secure fresh, healthy food, in ways that are both empowering and sustainable.

HANNYS is a statewide membership organization of direct food providers, advocates and other individuals, whose goal is to end hunger and its causes, including poverty. The funds for the HANNYS Mini-Grants come from a larger “Vita-Grant” (from the Indirect Vitamins Purchasers Antitrust Litigation Settlement) administered by the Attorney General of New York. HANNYS will award a second round of Mini-Grants this fall; the application deadline is October 30. In addition to offering these Mini-Grants, HANNYS is using “Vita-Grant” funds to establish other new connections between low-income New Yorkers and fresh, local food by organizing new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects, gleaning projects, and nutrition education projects around the state.

Following is a summary of each project and contact information for the sponsoring organization. For more information on HANNYS and the Mini-Grants program, contact Liz Wagner at 518-434-7371.

The Northside Food Network. Northside Neighborhood Association, Ithaca, NY. Administered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. The Northside Food Network will connect Northside Neighborhood residents to area farms, farmers, and the food they produce. This will be achieved through education, skill building, and new strategies for making local food more affordable to low-income residents. Components of this project will include: a new “Northside Neighborhood Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)” farm project offering weekly deliveries of vegetables at affordable prices; an “After-Market Seconds Sale” that will bring surplus food from the Ithaca Farmers’ Market into the neighborhood for discount sale; “WE-PICK Days” that bring families to farms to pick their own food and connect with its source; “Community Meals” celebrating locally grown foods; and “Grow a Row for Your Neighbors” which will organize gardeners to donate produce to a local food pantry.
For more information contact Meg Meixner at Northside Neighborhood Association, 607-273-0763.

The Chelsea Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Revolving Loan Fund. Hudson Guild, New York, NY. The Chelsea CSA has connected residents from their mixed-income neighborhood in Manhattan to a New York State farmer for three years; by pre-paying for a full year’s worth of vegetables form their farmer, members get abundant, affordable produce all season long. The Revolving Loan Fund will allow the CSA to include 20 low-income families who are unable to pre-pay for their vegetables in a lump sum: each member’s share will be purchased from the farmer using the loan fund, and the fund will then be replenished as the family pays back into it through the summer and fall.
For more information contact Miriam Rabban at Hudson Guild, 212-760-9800 ext. 300.

Bullthistle Bounty. Catholic Charities of Chenango County, NY. The Bullthistle Bounty will create a variant of the traditional food buying cooperative to suit the needs of their primarily rural county. In Chenango County many foods are produced locally, but low-income people face barriers to accessing them. At the heart of the Bullthistle Bounty is a system of coupons used to purchase food from local sources such as farmers’ markets and farmstands, which are spread out around the county. These coupons will be available to anyone, but people on a low income will receive a discounted rate, giving them more value for their food dollar. Joining with many public and private partners, Bullthistle Bounty will strengthen the county’s agricultural base as well as its residents’ access to good food.
For more information contact Candace Harrington at Catholic Charities of Chenango County, 607-334-8244.

Chautauqua Community Gardens. Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, NY. When the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry received an unexpected donation of a truckload full of seedlings, they saw first-hand community gardens’ power to help a community grow its own fresh, nutritious food. The HANNYS Mini-Grant will allow the Rural Ministry to partner with a local church serving the Hispanic community to start a new garden. This will be coupled with a food education program concentrating on preparation, preservation and sanitation.
For more information contact Kathleen Peterson, Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, 716-366-8322.

Community Supported Agriculture Gleaning Project. Wake Robin Farm CSA Core Group, Onondaga County, NY. Administered by the Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry. The Wake Robin Farm Community Supported Agriculture group has been very successful in growing fresh food for its members. In fact, they are successful enough in their planting each year that there is always an excess of nutritious, wholesome food in their fields that they are unable to harvest. Drawing workers from within the CSA membership, this project will create a structured gleaning program to move those fresh healthy vegetables from the fields to the food pantries that serve the area’s low-income residents. The group will monitor their project carefully so that it may be reproduced as a model for other CSA’s.
For more information contact Meg Schader, Wake Robin Farm, at 315-689-0034.

Schoharie Community Garden Project. Schoharie County Community Action Program, Cobleskill, NY. The HANNYS Mini-Grant will provide funds for a one-acre community garden that will grow food for the County’s Food Pantry Network, and for customers served through the Schoharie County CAP’s programs such as WIC, Family Development, Community Services and Displaced Homemaker. The funds will be used for supplies, personnel, and transportation.
For more information contact Barbara Rivenburgh, Schoharie County CAP, 518-234-2568.