BFW Offering of Letters 3ES2 Lobby Day 4 Single Payer Lobby Day 5Greenspace 6No Farms No Food Rally 7Brooklyn Food Conference 8Food, Faith & Spirituality 9Beyond Emergency Food 10Hamilton Hill Update 13Culinary Corner 14FORK IT OVER 16

Hunger Action Network of New York State275 State Street, Albany NY 12210 - (518) 434-7371; Fax 434-7390

64 Fulton Street, rm 801, NY, NY 10038 - (212) 741-8192; Fax 741-7236920 Albany Street, Schenectady NY 12307 (518) 688-2054; Fax 688-2055

www.hungeractionnys.org - email info@hungeractionnys.org

RASSROOTSThe Newsletter of the Hunger Action Network of New York State April 2012

etting to the Root of the Problem

Faces of Hunger Action Network

In This Issue of Grassroots..

Alison Clarke of Rochester is a long time food and justice activist who served for many years as Co-Chair of Hunger Action Network’s Board of Directors.

She retired after 25 years coordinat-ing The Politics of Food – now called Rochester Roots. The project devel-ops self-reliance by providing the education and tools that help low-in-come people obtain nutritious, locally grown food, and through the develop-ment and marketing of urban produce and products.

With two farmers, she was a co-founder of the first Community Sup-

GState lawmakers agreed to largely re-store the final 10% increase in the basic welfare grant in the recently passed state budget, ending a three year struggle to get the Governor (first Paterson, then

Cuomo) to fulfill a promise made to welfare participants 4 years ago.

Lawmakers agreed that the first 5% hike would take place on July 1st, with the second 5% delayed until October 1, 2012. The 10% increase amounts to an extra $1 a day for a family of 3. The combined welfare package still will leave households with an income of only 50% of the federal

poverty level.

A number of other cuts proposed by Governor Cuomo were rejected, but little was done to address the hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts made in recent years to human service, homeless and anti-poverty programs. Lawmak-ers unfortunately failed to raise needed revenue by closing more than a billion dollars in corporate tax loopholes or to make the state income tax more pro-gressive.

The budget does little to address the massive hunger, homelessness and un-employment in NYS. Nor does it deal with the tremendous income inequality in NYS, where the richest 1% get 35% of the income.

Less than a million dollars were allo-cated to the welfare Career Pathway’s Program and subsidized jobs. No fund-ing increase was provided to the state’s emergency food program (Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program).

No funding was provided for transitional jobs for welfare participants, nor was a public jobs program enacted. Most of the “jobs in the budget” are hoped to come from major investments in infrastructure improvements (e.g., rebuilding the Tap-pan Zee bridge), but this is dependent on speculative private investments. Nor did the infrastructure proposals include any quotas to hire low-income New Yorkers most hurt by the high unemployment levels.

Lawmakers did reject proposed cuts for some critical housing programs (NPC) and EPIC (the so-called donut hole for

cont. page 11

cont. page 12

Welfare Grant Hike Restored in Budget

2 • April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

Grassroots is published four times a year by the Hunger Action Network of New York State.

DOWNSTATE OFFICE64 Fulton St, Rm 801 New York, NY 10038

(212) 741-8192Fax (212) 741-7236

Mark A. Dunlea, Esq.Executive Director

UPSTATE OFFICE275 State Street, Albany NY 12210

(518) 434-7371Fax (518) 434-7390

Michael DaughertyInterim Upstate Coordinator

Deb CatozziAdministrative Director

Chyna SmithIntern

HAMILTON HILL FOOD PROCESSORS

920 Albany St., Schenectady NY 12307

(518) 688-2054 Fax (518) 688-2055

Vincent RossProject Director

Liz VitaleChef Instructor

Juliet NilesProduction Assistant

NOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORNOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORNOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORNOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORNOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 3

Board of DirectorsRev. Derrick BoykinBread for the World

William DiFazioSt. Johns University, NYC

Ron DeutschNew Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness

Rev. Ozzie Edwards Harlem Community Nutritional Services Agency

Dennis HanrattyMount Vernon United Tenants

Rev. Joyce HartwellThe Interfaith Alliance of NYS

Rev. Debra JamesonFOCUS Churches, Albany

Kelly Ann KowalskiFood For All, Buffalo

Bill PeltzLabor/Religion Coalition of the Capi-tal District - Jobs with Justice

Jessica PowersWhyHunger

Brian RiddellDutchess Outreach, Poughkeepsie

Christy RobbSt John’s Bread & Life, Brooklyn

Tyletha SamuelsCommunity Voices Heard, NYC

Robert SchwartzInterfaith Voices Against Hunger Terri Scofi eldUniversal Living Wage Campaign

Heidi SiegfriedCenter for Independence of the Dis-abled of New York

Rev. Terry TroiaProject Hospitality, Staten Island

Each year Bread for the World invites churches and groups across the country to write personal letters and emails to their members of Congress on issues that are important to hungry and poor people. These letters send a powerful message to our country’s political leaders and help us as a na-tion move closer to our goal of ending hunger. We are driven by our faith to make our voices heard in Congress and to make our nation’s laws more compassionate to people in need.

This year, Bread for the World members and advocates need to raise our voices more than ever.

Since the 2010 elections, members of Congress have been primarily fo-cused on reducing the federal defi cit in order to balance the budget. The defi cit-reduction proposals Congress is considering could result in the most severe cuts to programs for hungry and poor people in Bread’s history.

Bread’s 2012 Offering of Letters is designed to respond to these challenges by making our advocacy as effective as possible. So that Bread members and activists can respond more quickly to what’s happening in Congress, we will run several campaigns simultaneously. Our overall campaign fo-cuses on protecting funding for programs for hungry and poor people. Within this broader campaign to create a circle of protection are four mini-campaigns that address specifi c legislative topics before Congress:

•domestic nutrition assistance •poverty-focused foreign assistance •tax credits for low-income families •international food aid

Depending on how the work of Congress unfolds in 2012, churches or groups may want to conduct the overall campaign and/or one or more of the mini-campaigns. For example, when Congress’ budget process is in full swing, a congregation’s Offering of Letters might focus on poverty-focused foreign assistance within the budget debate—especially if the congrega-tion’s district or state is represented on the appropriations committees.

This is a journey God has called us to undertake. We have no doubt God is equipping us as we work to expand the circle of protection around pro-grams that are vital to hungry and poor people in the United States and abroad.

For more information on setting up a letter campaign log on to www.breadfortheworld.org

Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters

4 •April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

Hundreds Rally for Income Equality at CapitolSeveral hundred low-income New Yorkers and anti-hunger advocates came to Albany on Tues. March 7 for the annual Hunger Action Network, Empire State Economic Security Cam-paign (ES2), and Growing TogetherNY lobby day.

Restoring the promised 10% welfare basic grant, jobs, minimum wage and access to education for welfare partici-pants were the key highlights for the day. The groups also urged lawmak-ers to close a variety of corporate tax loopholes to raise additional revenues to fund essential services.

One of the highlights of the day was when several hundred protestors formed a human chain on the stairwell connecting the Governor’s offi ce to the Senate Chambers in the Capitol. The protesters engaged in a “mic check” where they juxtaposed the incredible human suffering in NYS with the ap-parent willingness to let huge corpora-tions and the rich pay lower taxes.

“It is time for the Governor and NYS Legislature to put income equality on the agenda. It is a scandal that year after year New York leads the country and the world in the gap between the rich and the poor and yet the Governor wants to cut the meager increase in welfare benefi ts to 50 cents a day for a family of three. We need to make the minimum wage a living wage rather than a poverty wage, we need to raise the minimum unemployment benefi t and we need make housing affordable for low-income and working families,” said Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network.

The wealthiest 1% of New York resi-dents gets 35% of the income in NYS. Lower income New Yorkers pay a higher percentage of their income in

state and local taxes than the wealthy.“With hunger and homelessness at re-cord levels it is unconscionable that we can continue to cut services for needy New Yorkers while at the same time letting profi table, multi-national, multi-state corporations pay little or nothing in state income taxes, said Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness. “Before we cut one more dime from needy New Yorkers it is time to ask the wealthiest corporations to pay their fair share in taxes.”

Welfare benefi ts in NYS have fallen to less than 50% of the federal poverty level. Three years ago, state lawmakers agreed after 19 years of neglect to raise the basic welfare grant ($297 for a fam-ily of three) by 10% a year for a family

of three. Yet Governor Cuomo blocked the third year of the increase when he became Governor and is proposing to save $6 million by cutting this year’s already delayed increase in half, even though the state continues to have a billion dollar surplus from the federal welfare (TANF) block grant.

The Empire State Economic Security campaign is also calling upon the Gov-ernor and lawmakers to create jobs. “We need a public jobs program to be

employer of last resort. And while we support essential investments in infra-structure, we need to set strong hiring goals for low-income individuals, wom-en, and people of color,” added Dunlea.

The groups urged lawmakers to change NYS law to adopt federal regulations increasing access to education for wel-fare participants (e.g., count homework as work, allow attendance at 4 year colleges, not just two-year schools), including making sure that participants have the right to choose basic education activities (e.g., GED, ESL) as a work activity. NYS should engage people receiving public assistance in educa-tion and training to the full extent that the federal law allows. New York can count 30% of the welfare caseload

meeting work requirements, when they are engaged in education and training activities.

Access to education and training allows individuals to participate in shaping the future for themselves, their family, and their community. Yet, one study fi nds that New York ranks 43rd in the nation in the number of adults with a high school education who attained college.

cont. page 12

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 5

New York voters support (78 - 20 per-cent) raising the $7.25 per hour mini-mum wage. Support is even 53 - 43 percent among Republicans according to a poll by Quinnipiac Institute.

Unfortunately, state lawmakers de-cided not to include a hike in the state minimum wage as part of their “Big Ugly” deal making for the state budget. Senate Republicans have opposed the hike, while Governor Cuomo has been silent. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Sil-ver says his top priority for the legisla-ture is for them to act on this bill.

While the Assembly leadership is pushing for a minimum wage hike to $8.50 an hour, and indexing to infl a-tion, a majority of those who support a minimum wage hike would like to see it raised higher, such as $10 an hour.

Hunger Action Network has been ad-vocating for years to turn the minimum

wage from a poverty wage into a living wage.

A raise in the minimum wage would be a good fi rst step in addressing the huge income disparity that has developed over the past 30 years, with NY having

the greatest gap in the country - and the U.S. has the greatest gap among indus-trial democracies.

Average wages are 7 percent lower to-day, adjusted for infl ation, than they were in 1973. The last time we saw the

richest 1 percent getting 35 percent of the income was in 1927, right before the Great Depression.

The minimum wage was enacted dur-ing the Depression to get the economy moving again by putting more money into the hands of the working poor. When the rich have so much money, tax cuts for the wealthy doesn’t create jobs or stimulate the economy because they have too much money to spend.

The number of people coming to food pantries and soup kitchens has in-creased 60 percent in the last four years. Many of the 3 million New Yorkers re-ceiving emergency food have jobs but don’t make enough to make ends meet.Raising the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 would benefi t about 1 million New York workers. Adults account for more than 84 percent of workers who would benefi t.

Minimum Wage Hike to $10 an Hour Sought

While the Supreme Court is pondering the constitutionality of the health in-surance mandate, universal health care activists will be at the State Capitol on Tuesday May 8th urging New York to join Vermont in making health care a right.

The lobby day will begin with a brief-ing at 9:30 AM at Westminster Presby-terian Church, 85 Chestnut St. Albany.

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried has updated his longstanding single payer bill (A7860 / S5425), with the support of Senator Thomas Duane and nearly 70 other lawmakers. The bill would create a universal single payer health plan – New York Health – to provide

comprehensive health coverage for all practitioner or other provider to provide care coordination – helping to get the care and follow-up the patient needs, referrals, and navigating the system. But there would be no “gatekeeper” ob-stacles to care. A broadly representative Board of Trustees will advise the Com-missioner of Health.

Long- term-care coverage is not in-cluded at the start, but the bill requires

that the Board de-velop a plan for it within fi ve years of passage.

Health care would no longer be paid

for by insurance companies charging a regressive “tax” – premiums, de-ductibles and co-pays – imposed regardless of ability to pay. Instead, New York Health would be paid for by assessments based on ability to pay, through a progressively-graduated payroll tax (paid 80% by employers and 20% by employees, and 100% by self-employed) and a surcharge on oth-er taxable income.

Federal funds now received for Medi-care, Medicaid, Family Health and Child Health Plus would be combined with the state revenue in a New York Health Trust Fund. The “local share” of Medicaid funding – a major burden on local property taxes – would end.

Single Payer Lobby Day - May 8th

6 • April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

Green Space

American farm policy and corporate mergers have created powerful agri-business giants with dominant market shares—corporations that control vir-tually every segment of the industrial food system. While monopolies and oligopolies have captured the bulk of the profits, small and mid sized family farms have gotten squeezed out. Work-ers face exploitative conditions and consumers end up paying higher pric-es, with millions living in food deserts without access to fresh food.

There is a growing movement to (re)build food systems that are good, lo-cal, sustainable, and fair. Alternative certification schemes, such as organic and Fair Trade and marketing channels such as farmers markets, food hubs, and community-supported agriculture (CSAs), offer practical examples of visions for a more equitable and sus-tainable food system. Unfortunately, voting with our wallets and forks alone is not enough.

Why the Farm Bill needs a Competition TitleBy Yi Wang & Eric Weltman, Food and Water Watch (for the Food Systems Network NYC)

As the ‘alternative food movement’ works at the local level to restore links between consumers and farmers, ur-ban and rural, and to secure justice and rights for workers, we must also address the rules that govern the food system. The next Farm Bill presents a critical opportunity to chip away at the power of agribusiness and to build fair and sustainable local food systems.

A couple of marker bills recently in-troduced in Congress have generated support from food advocates. The Lo-cal Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2011 (H.R. 3286/S. 1773) aims to strengthen the production, processing, marketing and distribution infrastructure needed to support local and regional food sys-tems. The bill contains provisions to improve consumer access to locally grown food, such as expanding SNAP coverage to farmers’ markets and allow-ing up to 15 % of school lunch funding for local food purchases.

In addition to creating greater in-centives for local, sustainable, and accessible food, tackling concen-tration should be addressed in the next Farm Bill. We must urge Con-gress to include a comprehensive Competition Title that would:

• Prevent market manipulation by meatpackers and pork processors and require fair contracts for live-stock, poultry and produce farmer

• Enforce anti-trust laws for milk processors, vegetable shippers and grocery stores

• Stop market manipulation by big agribusiness in all sectors of the food system

Leveling the playing field will allow small businesses to flourish and pro-vide the local, organic and fresh alter-natives that consumers demand.

Concentration throughout the Food System

At the beginning of the food chain, a few companies supply farmers with in-puts. Two firms sell two-thirds of the corn and soybean seeds. 93 % of soy-beans and 80 % of corn cultivated in the United States are grown from seeds containing Monsanto-patented, geneti-cally engineered traits.

At the other end a small number of companies buy crops and livestock, so many farmers and ranchers are essen-tially forced to sell at whatever prices these buyers offer. Three flour-milling companies control 55 % and three soy-bean processors control 71 % of their markets. In their respective industries, the four largest companies slaughter four out of five cattle, process two-thirds of the pork, process half of the chicken, manufacture about half the milk, and sell half the groceries in the United States.

What Competition?

The beef-packing industry is more powerful and consolidated today than it was almost a century ago when Con-gress enacted the Packers & Stock-

cont. page 11

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 7

Farm and food advocates from around New York State laid solid groundwork for legislative funding to protect farm-land, and sustain the business of agricul-ture, at American Farmland Trust’s third annual No Farms, No Food rally, held February 15 in Albany. Hunger Action was one of the co-sponsors.

The event brought together more than 100 individuals, representing 70 supporting organizations, and sent a powerful message to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Commissioner of Agriculture Darrel Aubertine, state legislators, and other New Yorkers. That message? We must strengthen our farm and food economy, protect farmland and the en-vironment, and increase access to nutri-tious food grown in New York.

Key state leaders underscored their commitment to strengthening New York’s farm and food policy. Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, along with state

agriculture committee chairs Senator Patty Ritchie and Assemblyman Bill Magee, joined us at the Rally and spoke in support of our pro-farm agenda.Robert Morgenthau, the former Man-hattan District Attorney and Special Counsel to American Farmland Trust, introduced Lieutenant Governor Duffy. Morgenthau owns a family farm in Dutchess County. The Lt. Gov. noted that Morgenthau had called him in sup-port of “Buy from the Backyard Act,” which would require the offi ce of gen-eral services and other state agencies to buy 20% of all their food products from producers and/or processors in New York State.

The Bill has twice passed the State Sen-ate but the Governor’s offi ce and the Democrats in the Assembly have ques-tions about whether it would result in other states restricting purchases from NYS farmers. Duffy agreed to look into it. The NYC City Council had sought

No Farms, No Food Rallyto pass similar legislation last year but Mayor Bloomberg raised concerns. The compromise was to encourage the Mayor to begin to collect data on how much of the food the city purchases is local. The City is the second largest purchaser of food in the country after the military. The city serves over 1 million meals a day, 85% of which are in the schools.

Rally participant Bhavani Jaroff of Long Island, and host of the Progressive Radio Network’s iEat Green, recorded her show from Albany on the day of the Rally. She stressed to listeners and those in at-tendance that New York must “allocate enough money to keep farmers from needing to sell their land to developers in order to retire, and to make it possible for them to transition their land to a new generation of farmers.” Jaroff went on to say, “We all need to eat, and if we want access to fresh, local, sustainably raised fruits, vegetables and dairy, we need to support our farmers.”

Plant Seeds Not Greed Boosted by the occupy movement, Guerilla gardens are taking root in communities across the country. Guerilla gardening is the process of reclaiming abandoned, neglected lots and creating gardens on them to both beautify and feed the commu-nity. What a great way to Occupy – turning neighborhood blight into attractive, food producing spaces.

Most abandoned lots are owned by wealthy individuals or corporations as investment properties, thus the owners have no connection with, or concern for, people who live in the neighborhood.

Obtaining permission to develop a garden on someone else’s property can be diffi cult if not impossible. Many community garden programs have long waiting lists for plots. Guerilla gardening eliminates one

of the most challenging steps to start-ing a community garden – fi nding the land.

As with any community garden proj-ect, guerilla gardens provide a com-munity building process; Guerilla gardens have the added benefi t of reclaiming a small piece of the rock for the 99%.

To fi nd out if there is a Guerilla gar-den movement in your community or to start a project, contact your local Occupiers.

8 • April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

Hunger Action Network is a communi-ty partner of Brooklyn Food Coalition in their 2012 conference on Saturday May 12 at Brooklyn Tech High School. The free con-ference will help strengthen the cooperative effort of indi-viduals, groups and organiza-tions fi ghting everyday for a healthy, sustainable and fair food system.

Over 5,000 people are ex-pected to attend this free, all day event. Learn about healthy eating, how to access healthy food, how to get ac-tive around food issues, im-prove school food and how to change the food system so you and your family

Brooklyn Food Conference - May 12can lead healthy lives. Over 175 work-shops, cooking demos, kids and family activities, youth summit, huge expo of

food businesses and non-profi ts work-ing to create a healthy food system. The

Food and Farm Bill will be a key topic at the conference.

Key note speakers include Lu-cas Benitez, Co-Director of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and Bryant Terry, eco chef and author of three books, including his latest The Inspired Vegan. The NYC Mayoral candidates, and City council members, congress-members and State Legisla-tors from Brooklyn will also participate.

For more info and to register, see www.bkfoodconference.

org. Pre-registration is important since the last conference was closed out.

Food Policy Workshop Scheduled for Rochester - June 7th There will be a Food Policy council Workshop and Networking Session in Rochester on June 7. The event will be from 10 to 4 PM at the Monroe County Cornell Cooperative Extension Of-fi ce, 249 Highland Ave, Rochester.

Food and agriculture policy coun-cils, food coalitions, and other multi-stakeholder groups are orga-nizing across the country to engage government at all levels to develop just, healthy, and sustainable lo-cal food systems. There are now an estimated 150 food policy councils in the U.S. that run the gamut from loose local food networks to statuto-rily authorized local and state food policy entities. Throughout New York there are several counties, cit-ies, and regions that have organized food policy councils or are in the early stages of doing so.

This workshop will be an opportunity to do two things. The fi rst is to learn more about the “state of the art” of food policy council organizing and

operation. What works, what doesn’t, and what can we reasonably expect

from this approach to food democracy. The review will include the identifi ca-tion and engagement of council mem-bers, development and action on policy

issues, creation of a suitable gover-nance structure, and the development of private and public partnerships. The workshop will use interactive training methods to help participants develop or improve their own food policy council. The second purpose of this gathering is to provide a networking opportu-nity for New York’s local food policy councils, coalitions, etc. Not only do we think the opportunity is right for everyone to meet each other, we think the time might be right to take more deliberate action toward form-

ing a statewide network. We’ll explore this possibility. And in the process of

cont. page 10

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 9

Hunger Action has worked with Bread for the World for more than a decade to join the charity work of faith commu-nities to feed the hungry with the call for the faith community to advocate for justice. Recently we have helped convene a Faith and Food Justice group in NYC to work on the Farm Bill.

Below is an article from WhyHunger, based on Fred Bahnson forthcoming book (Soil & Sacrament: Four Seasons With the Keepers of the Earth) which provides an introduction to the role of food and faith.

Facing a world in which food is abundant, yet nearly one billion people are chroni-cally hungry and undernour-ished, communities of every kind are fi ghting for social justice so that the hungry can feed themselves. Often they are faith communities, inspired by their religious traditions to liberate the hungry and the oppressed.

Justice for the Hungry

Compassion for the poor and hungry is central to world religions. The To-rah (the Jewish Bible) teaches that car-ing for poor and hungry people is not a matter of charity, but of justice or tze-dekah. In the Christian tradition (Mat-thew. ch.25), feeding the hungry is to feed Christ himself. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims consume no food or water from sunup to sundown: Ra-madan combines both fasting and feast-ing, a powerful symbol of the unity of Muslims. Buddhism teaches a universal compassion for the suffering of human-ity. In these and in other faith traditions, their teachings are being translated into practical initiatives of feeding the hun-

gry and defending farming communi-ties, supporting farm workers and food workers, and working for healthy, local food systems.

Confronting the Happy Meal

How do we renew the family meal in a society dominated by McDonald’s “Happy Meals”? How can we live the values of local diversity and sustain-ability in a monoculture of fast food and an industrial agriculture system which poisons the soil and pollutes our food and water? How do we live the values of justice and compassion in an agribusiness food chain that is destroy-ing local communities and traditional ways of rural life here and abroad?

Ethical and spiritual principles underlie the strategies to rebuild local, regional and global food systems – principles such as biodiversity, safe and healthy food, fair prices for family farmers and farm workers, empowering the urban and rural poor, understanding seeds as a free gift of nature, and ensuring the human rights to food, water and land.

Food, Faith & SpiritualityWhat We Can Learn From Each Other

The struggle against hunger and pov-erty brings together religious traditions and humanist approaches, the sacred

and the secular, indigenous peo-ples and good food movements in modern cities especially and, increasingly, in rural areas where refugees are resettled: what can they learn from each other?

World religions, which go back thousands of years and com-prise billions of people, can inspire their followers to build food justice: in the U.S. we see faith communities strongly in-volved in soup kitchens and food banks as well as food ac-tivism and food policy work. They are increasingly active in building local food systems such as community supported agriculture (CSA) and sister cit-

ies projects.

At the same time, religious traditions have had to awaken to the global food crisis we are in: they are learning from the environmental movement and from food activists that the bread and wine and water and land invoked in their sa-cred rituals have become global com-modities under corporate control.

Faith traditions are building connec-tions to an international movement such as “Slow Food,” which rebuilds traditional farm and food cultures. A special inspiration in the struggle for a world free from hunger and despair comes from the deep spirituality of in-digenous peoples who see themselves as a part of nature and its guardians.

10 • April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

Going Beyond Emergency FoodFood pantries face a daily struggle in get-ting enough food to address the growing needs of their communities. Emergency food providers also know the situations and events that force people to seek food at their organizations: the loss of a job, a lack of access to nutritious food, low education levels, health problems, and many other challenges. Many providers who want to work with their program participants to address those issues, but do not have the tools to improve their services.

Going beyond Emergency Food: A Guide for Providers by WhyHunger (www.why-h u n g e r . o r g / u p l o a d s /fileAssets/83eff7_2c1fb5.pdf), helps organizations move beyond emergency services so that they can pro-vide the education and skills needed to address hunger and poverty issues. This 12 page guide will help you increase community food security and reduce poverty in your area. Increasing community food security means ensuring ac-

cess to affordable nutritious food for all people at all times.

The guide also describes model pro-grams that have helped low-income people to escape poverty. WHY’s Re-investing in America (RIA) program collects information on organizations with education, training, and other types of programs that go beyond emergency help. You can use this guide to start similar projects at your own organiza-tion. (Join the RIA network by emailing ria@worldhungeryear.org or by calling 1-800-5-HUNGRY.)

Food Policy Councils from page 7doing this, we’ll provide an update and discussion about the “state of the state’s” of food policy work in New York and in Congress. There’s a lot going on!

Workshop Leaders and Sponsors: Mark Winne, Food Policy Council Program Director for the Commu-nity Food Security Coalition; Kate Mendenhall, Executive Director of NOFA-NY; Mark Dunlea, Execu-tive Director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State. Fund-ing for this event is provided by Heifer International.

Registration: Please register with Stephanie Backer-Bertsch at NOFA-NY. The number is 585-271-1979 x 509, or online at http://tinyurl.com/fpcreg. There is a registration fee of $10 per person to cover the cost of lunch and snacks. Due to limitations on space and workshop format, we must limit registration to the fi rst 75 people. The registration deadline is May 25th.

Hunger Action Network will hold a conference in NYC on June 15 to examine hunger over the last 30 years and to plan future action. It will take place at the Middle Col-legiate Church, 50 E. 7th Street, New York - (near 2nd Ave, close to Cooper Union). The NYC Coali-tion Against Hunger and Brooklyn Food Coalition have agreed to co-sponsor (others are welcome)

The conference, from 9 AM to

1 PM, will begin with a plenary - “How has hunger and the anti-hun-

NYC Hunger Conference - June 15

ger movement changed in the last 30 years - what lessons can we draw from that”.

Workshops will include: The Role of the Faith Community in anti-hunger advocacy; Making EFPs the best they can be. Bringing hunger groups into the Food Justice Move-ment (CSAs, Farm Bill, gardens); and, Addressing the Problem of Growing Income Inequality.

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 11

yards Act to break up the beef monop-olies. Consolidation has slashed the number of dairy cooperatives by half in 20 years while increasing their mar-ket power. Most dairy farmers market their milk through cooperatives that are often the only buyer in their area and are often linked to large dairy pro-cessing companies.

In the broiler chicken industry, a few vertically integrated poultry process-ing companies, known as ‘integrators’, own the birds and control multiple stages of production through produc-tion contracts with poultry growers.

Food Deserts & Higher Food Prices

Consolidation in food retail contributes to the creation and expansion of food deserts in low-income inner city and rural areas. Many grocery store chains left the inner city in favor of the sub-urbs during the latter half of the 20th century as supermarket brands merged and closed less profitable stores. Rapid retail consolidation has pushed many of the grocery stores that once served these areas out of business.

Corporate food and agribusiness inter-ests contend that economies of scale of-fer consumers more choice and afford-ability. In reality, market power enables processors and retailers to influence prices charged to consumers as well as prices paid to suppliers, often resulting in prices at the farm gate that have little relationship with prices at the store.

The Double Squeeze on Farmers

Only a small portion of consumers’ dol-lars gets back to farmers. According to USDA figures, the share of the food retail dollar that returned to farmers fell from 35% in 1984 to 16% in 2008. This is partly because a growing por-tion of consumers’ retail spending goes to processing, distribution, and market-ing. The agricultural input and supply industries can squeeze farmers due to lack of competition.

The Need for a Competition Title in the Food and Farm Bill

The 2008 Farm Bill included the first-ever Livestock Title that made some progress in addressing the lack of com-petition in the livestock sector. After a nearly two-year effort by the meat in-

Farm Bill from page 6 dustry to kill the proposal, the Obama administration recently finalized the new GIPSA rules. Unfortunately, many view the rules as significantly weaker and narrower in scope than the initial proposed rules.

The next Food and Farm Bill should in-clude a competition title that strength-ens and expands the competition policy contained in the 2008 Farm Bill Live-stock Title, with measures address-ing concentration at every link in the food chain. For livestock, Congress should ban meatpacker ownership of livestock. Congress should also charge USDA with enforcing anti-trust laws for milk processors, vegetable shippers and grocery stores, prevent monopoly control over seeds, stop market manip-ulation by big agribusiness in all sec-tors of the food system, and institute a moratorium of agribusiness mergers.

Instead of accommodating agribusi-ness’s need for cheap raw materials and expendable labor, the next Food and Farm Bill should take concrete steps towards decentralizing the concentra-tion of the market power held presently by Big Ag.

Faces from page 1

ported Agriculture in Western New York and also of the Center for Sus-tainable Living in the Genesee/Finger Lakes Region. She was a co-founder of the Genesee Coop Federal Credit Union and has been active with the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Work Group.

Alison is a founder of the former Rochester Peace and Justice Edu-cation Center, which evolved with other groups into Metro Justice of Rochester, an organization working for peace and justice.

Alison spends much of her time these days helping to coordinate the NY Small Scale Food Processors’ Asso-ciation, which she helped found 10 years ago. The goal of the group is to help prevent the demise of NYS fam-ily farms. It was agreed that creating value added products from farm pro-duce was the best way to keep busi-nesses and grow it on the farms.

Alison has always been a master net-worker, bringing together farmers with schools with peace activists with the peace community. That is one of the things that first attracted her to Hunger Action Network.

“Hunger Action is critical because it speaks with a voice that is otherwise not heard. It speaks truth to power in a non-violent way,” she remarked.

Community food security has been an organizing focus for Alison. “Hun-ger Action works to help ensure that all people have access to nutritional, locally grown food that is culturally appropriate and produced in an envi-ronmentally sustainable and socially just manner, that is provided in a non-emergency manner.” (As part of our 30th anniversary, Faces of Hunger Action Network will be featuring individuals who were in-volved in our formation)

12 • April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

State Budget from page 1

prescription drugs for seniors). Advo-cates were pleased that the NRT Sup-portive Housing Development Program for those with long term illness was approved. Lawmakers did add another $2 million in TANF funds to the $93 million in general funds proposed by the Governor to offset federal cuts in funding for child care but there is still signifi cant unmet needs. The proposal to free up some child care slots by elimi-nating mandatory work requirements for welfare participants with children under the age of one was not included in the budget.

Lawmakers failed to approve the cre-ation of a Health Insurance Exchange which would assist individuals and small businesses obtain more afford-able health care coverage and allow the state to quality for additional federal funds under the recent national insur-ance mandate. The Governor however is expected to create the exchange through an Executive Order. The budget also failed to include the hospitals charity care program.

While lawmakers agreed to fund the last three years of the 5-year capital plan for mass transit (MTA) in NYC, this was done primarily by making the MTA incur an additional $9 billion in debt. Transit advocates complained that this will lead to yet more fare hikes and cuts in services.

prescription drugs for seniors). Advo-

People receiving welfare in New York face particularly harsh barriers to the education and training that would help them prepare for a good job.

Charlotte Alvarez a student with Welfare Rights Initiative said, “They say we live in the land of opportunity, yet they’re cutting funds to the Tuition Assistance Program and federal Pell Grants. With-out these grants, I would not have even had the opportunity to come to school…where’s the opportunity in that? “

“Since I was young, my mother always encouraged me to do very well in school because she believed that education was the key. I want to be able to achieve goals that my parents were denied because

Lobby Day from page 4

they didn’t have the same opportunities that I do and had the responsibility of a family to support. I am now in a four-year college and I also receive food stamp benefi ts. S2323 would give me the chance to complete a higher education and fulfi ll my goals,” said Audrey Zapata a student with Welfare Rights Initiative

“Many women in my country (Pakistan) are denied access to education. I am here today to support the bill S2323 in order for everyone in this country to have equal access to education,” said Sophia Huda, a student with Welfare Rights InitiativeMany food banks, soup kitchens, and While the Supreme Court is pondering the constitutionality of the health insur-ance mandate, universal health care

OCCUPY OPPORTUNITIES

Though many occupiers are no longer camped out in city parks, they are still keeping very busy organizing actions, initiating community projects and building the movement. Many of the occupy groups have subcommit-tees that work on specifi c issues like income inequality, the food system and healthcare. Occupiers are eager and willing to work collaborativiely with other communtiy groups. If you have not done so already, fi nd out about the group in your area. Here is a partial list of occupied places. Most can be found at occupy(name of city).org

• Albany• Binghamton• Buffalo• Delhi• Glens Falls• Hudson• Kingston• Long Island• Mt Vernon• NYC (several groups)• Oswego• Otsego• Plattsburgh• Rochester• Saratoga Springs• Syracuse

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 13

Food Network Celeb Helps Students Hone Knife Skills

From food drives to legislator vol-unteering events were held around the state to mark Hunger Aware-ness Day on March 15th. The Faith and Hunger Network in Albany in-vited state legislators to the Winter Breakfast Program to volunteer. Assmeblyman Bob Riley from Clif-ton Park was the only taker but he expressed how valuable the experi-ence was for him.

As part of the Hunger Awareness Art project children’s artwork was sent in from communities around the state and displayed outside sev-

eral legislative offi ces in AlbanyPutnam Community Action Pro-gram coordinated a countywide

HUNGER AWARENESS DAY 2012

On March 14th the Hamilton Hill Food Processors welcomed Chef Giovanni S. Morina, a regular cast member and contestant on the Food Networks cook-ing show “Challenge”.

Chef Giovanni known as Gio, owns Gio Cakes and Gio Culinary Studio both located in Voorheesville, NY. He is also a graduate of the culinary Program at Schenectady County Community College. Gio was “thrilled to come and pass along his skills.”

Chef Gio spent the after-noon with the students helping them hone their knife skills. “The stu-dents really loved having him here.” Liz Vitale, the project’s Chef Instructor said. “It’s not everyday you get to work with a local chef who’s on TV.”

The students got to work one on one with Chef Gio as he gave them culi-nary tips. Chef Gio also sat down with the students and talked about being a

successful chef. “It was very inspi-rational for our students. They were able to see how hard work and perse-verance can pay off.” Project Direc-

tor Vincent Ross said.

“Chef Gio was the fi rst guest in our new program of inviting guest chefs.” Liz Vitale noted. “We are planning on having at least one guest chef per month visit”.

The project is currently scheduling visits from prominent area chefs. Chef’s planning on visit-ing the classroom include, Eric Laure of the Food Net-work; Joesph Encobo, Chef Instructor at the Culinary Institute of America; and Rick Orlando from New World Home Cooking.

Chef Gio’s website can be found at www.gioculi-

narystudio.com. Guest chef announce-ments as well as additional pictures can be found at the Hamilton Hill Food Processors’ Facebook page..

food drive along with seven other food pantries in the county. They used the day to emphasize their need for additional volunteers.The soup kitchen in Brewster relies on volunteers for its operation accord-ing to Judy Callahan, CAPs direc-tor.

If you missed holding an event for March 15th - no worries. It’s never to late to invite legislators to visit your progam, meet with your guests and get a better understanding of the needs of EFPs and their guests.

14 • April 2012 Hunger Action Network of New York State

DIRECTIONS:1. In a large pot over medium high heat melt the butter. Once the butter is melted add the onions and lower the heat to medium low. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes, stirring every once in a while, the goal is for them to become almost clear and tender, add the celery and carrots and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 2. Pour in the chicken stock or broth and bring to a boil. When the liquid is boiling, the frozen peas go in and cook for 3 minutes, or until tender. Add the chopped mint to the pot. 3. Puree in a blender with sour cream until completely smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste then enjoy!

Pea & Mint Soup Serves 6 Total Time: 25 minutes

Spring has sprung and while Mother Nature has spared us from a frigid winter there is still plenty of rain to fall. Chase away your rainy day blues and the colds and sniffl es that follow by enjoying a warm cup of soup. It takes minutes to prepare and will have everyone thinking Ra-chael Ray is hiding in your kitchen!

Ingredients:3 each Yellow Onions, chopped2 each Carrots, peeled and chopped2 each Celery sticks, chopped20 ounces of Frozen Peas4 cups of Chicken Stock or Broth

2 tablespoons of Butter2/3 cup Mint, chopped½ cup Sour CreamSaltPepper

Hunger Action Network is revamping its website, updating the content and changing to a system that we can update directly using Wordpress. We are seeking volunteers to assist us with this process. Website design skills would be helpful but not necessary as Wordpress is a web page management system specifi cally designed for non-professionals.

If you would like to help please contact Deb at 518 434-7371 ext 3# or dcatozzi@hungeractionnys.org.

VOLUNTEER WEBMASTER NEEDED

www.hungeractionnys.org

CULINARY CORNER with Chef Liz

GRASSROOTS April 2012 • 15

Yes, I want to help end the root causes of hunger by becoming a member:

$30 Individual $5(low/fixed income)

$40 small organization $75 medium organization $150 large organization

Here is my donation of ___________

I have no money now but please add me to your mailing list

I want to organize a local fundraiser for the 30th anniversary

Please send me information about volunteer opportunities

Name__________________________________ Organization ____________________________________

Address ________________________________ City ______________________________ Zip __________

Phone (day) ______________ (eve.) _____________ (FAX) __________ (E-Mail) ____________________

Please make checks payable to and return to Hunger Action Network of NYS, 275 State St., Albany NY 12210

Hunger Action network of new York StAte

MeMberSHip coupon

Please be an active partner in marking Hunger Action Network’s 30th year by renewing your membership and signing up to participate in an upcoming event

Thanks to our new and renewing members - You make us strong!

CAPITAL DISTRICT: Mary Crangle; Colin Dwyer; Roberta Ehlert; First Reformed Church of Schenectady; Ellen Harootu-nian; Mary and Richard Irving; Kitt Jackson; Deb Jameson, Focus Churches; Asa and Judith Kaplan; Michael Keenan; Mary LaPoint, St Mary’s Outreach; Harold Larkin, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church; Mimi Mounteer; Bob and Pat Obrecht; Dick Osborne, Physicians for a National Healthcare Plan; Francess Pacella; Richard Propp, Capital District Alliance for Universal Healthcare; Pat Reed; Diane Stahlman; Mary Ellen Stewart; Carl and Theresa Swidorski; Mary Lou Warren, Shenendehowa Helping Hands GENESSEE VALLEY: Lucille Hamlin, St Patrick’s Social Ministry Committee; Jason McCartney; Bill McCoy, Metro Justice; Shirley Munson, Greece Ecumenical Food Shelf; Marjorie Schmale HUDSON VALLEY: Jackie Bucelot-Mills; Stephen Fiore; Brian Riddell, Dutchess Outreach; Diane Serratore, People to People LONG ISLAND: St John the Evangelist RC Church; Doris Frisenda, Developmental Disabilities Institute NYC: Frances Annando, Little Sisters of the Assumption; Derrick Boykin, Bread for the World; Vera Burnett, Bethany UMC Hunger Committee; Bill DiFazio, St John’s University; Susan Dooha, CIDNY; Henry Freedman, Nat’l Center for Law and Economic Justice; Mark Goreczny, Cathedral Community Cares at St John the Divine; Anna James, Middle Collegiate Church; Andrea Logan; Jacqueline Mason-Smith, Youth Action Program & Homes; Janet Miller, CAMBA; Hakim Rasheed, Broadway Community Inc; Christy Robb; St Johns Bread and Life; Lucia Russett; Little Sisters of the Assumption; Tyletha Samuels, Community Vocies Heard; Robert Schwartz, Interfaith Voices Against Hunger; Mark vonTopel, New York University; Helen Weisman; Doreen Wohl, Westside Campaign Against Hunger WESTCHESTER: Claudia, Terry Berardi; The Community Food Pantry at St Mary’s Mohegan Lake; Lisa Buck, The Bridge Fund of Westchester WESTERN NEW YORK: Kelly Ann Kowalski, Food for All; Tom Potts; Judy Tu-tuska

Non-Profi t Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDAlbany, NY

Permit No. 111

Hunger Action NetworkOF NEW YORK STATE275 State St.Albany NY 12210

Fork it Over to End Hunger,Tuesday, May 22, 2012The EGG - Albany 5:30 -7:30 pm

In commeroration of our 30th anniver-sary Hunger Action Network will hold a number of events around the state, acknowledging its appreciation for the work of thousands of volunteers and or-ganizations working to end hunger

Join us for a food and beverage tasting to raise support for the 40,000+ individuals who use food pantries and soup kitchens in the Capital District each month.

Included in the evening, we will be hon-oring Congressman Paul Tonko, Frank Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute, and FOCUS Churches of Albany. Frank Mauro, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a leading researcher on economic justice and budget reform issues, has helped Hunger Action Network on issues such as welfare reform, transitional jobs programs, and the minimum wage. As both an

Assembly member and Congressmem-ber, Paul Tonko has been a strong ad-vocate on hunger issues and health care reform. FOCUS Churches has been one of the principal providers of emergency food assistance in the Capital District while mobilizing the faith community and low-income residents to advocate for an end to hunger. Focus Director, Rev. Debra Jameson, serves on Hunger Action Network’s board of directors.

Food will be prepared by the Chefs Con-sortium, a group of chefs dedicated to farm-to-table and sustainable farming in the Capital District and Hudson River Valley. Chefs Ric Orlando of New World Bistro, Rebecca Joyner from the Dar-

row School in New Lebanon, and natu-ral foods chef Noel Conklin will prepare fresh and seasonal tastings from local ingredients, including pork and chicken from West Wind Acres and the local food products of the Hunger Action Networks’ own Healthy Community Harvest food production.

Also on hand will be Sarah Gordon of the Heldeberg on-line farmers market, com-munity bloggers “From Scratch Club” and Albany musicians Andy Sink and the Pool Boys.

Those wishing to place a congratulatory ad to our honorees in the event Program Book may og on to: http://bit.ly/GJ1fue

to do so.

For tickets or additional information go to www.hungeractionnys.org or call 518 434-7371 extension 2#