New York State Food Policy Council Harlem Listening Session

Posted by Leslie Boden, Community Health Consultant, and James Subudhi, WE ACT

On the evening of May 29th, the New York State Food Policy Council (NYSFPC) held a special listening session at the State Building in Harlem with an audience of over 100 community residents, advocates, and government representatives, including the New York City Food Policy Coordinator, Ben Thomases. The NYSFPC held its first NYC listening session, at which several Food Systems Network members delivered testimony, in lower Manhattan during the morning and afternoon of April 3rd. FSNYC member James Subudhi of WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Deborah Quinones of Community Board 11 in East Harlem urged the Council then to hold an additional session at a location and time more convenient to the predominantly low-income residents of communities of color, which resulted in the Harlem session.

Former governor Spitzer formed the Council in 2007 to make recommendations to the governor on agricultural policy, food access, food safety, and general awareness about food. To develop their recommendations, the Council has traveled around New York State listening to people talk about issues such as farm-to-school, emergency food, and lack of access to healthy foods in urban and rural communities.

Council members started their day in Harlem with a tour of the East Harlem food environment led by Syane Roy from Senator Jose M. Serrano's office, Subudhi, Ms. Emma Jackson and Ms. Robin Owens of the Taft Housing projects. It was set in context by the appearance of an article in that day's New York Times about Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s report on property tax incentives extended to fast food restaurants above 96th street in Manhattan. In stark contrast to Harlem's ubiquitous fast food, the listening session kicked off with a reception catered by the Children’s Aid Society's Next Generation Catering Company, which used locally sourced ingredients from neighborhood farmers markets.

The audience, composed mainly of community residents from all over the city, was vastly different from the advocates and government officials at the downtown session. The turnout was the result of outreach led by WE ACT and Senator Serrano’s office, demonstrating the effectiveness of community-based organizations staffed with a majority of people of color in mobilizing residents to advocate for policy changes.

Those providing testimony included members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union who spoke of the unfair wages and treatment of supermarket employees. A Bronx resident asked the Council to provide funding for markets in his borough to address the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in his community. A senior from an East Harlem housing project, who came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic 41 years ago, urged the Council to look into discriminatory remarks, unfair wages for workers, and high prices practiced by his local supermarket. Youth cooks from Children’s Aid Society spoke about the fast food restaurants littering their neighborhood and the importance of educating youth to eat healthy foods.

The session clearly succeeded in bringing community voices to the forefront so that they contribute to the Council's policy recommendations. After the session, the Ag and Markets Commissioner, Patrick Hooker, said he wished farmers could have heard what he had heard and expressed interest in bringing the rural and urban communities together through a session in the future.

Testimony presented at the NYS Food Policy Council listening sessions can be found here.