New York State Insider: Gov. Signs Assemblymember Abinanti's “Food For The Hungry” Bill.

 

Gov. Signs Abinanti's “Food for the Hungry” Bill.

“Hunger in New York is a reality - even here in Westchester,” said Assemblymember Tom Abinanti (D-Greenburgh/ Mt. Pleasant) as he announced that Governor Kathy Hochul has signed his legislation to require supermarkets to provide “excess” food to food relief organizations.  An estimated 2.3 million New Yorkers face hunger and food insecurity annually.  The new law extends for five years the “excess edible food law” passed in 2020 and helps ensure continued food donations to local and community-based food relief organizations while also reducing the amount of food waste diverted to solid waste landfills. “The pandemic has exacerbated the problem for many families having difficulty putting food on the table,” said Abinanti. “We cannot have parents skipping meals for their kids, seniors skimping on their medicines, and kids going to school without lunch when supermarkets are filling landfills with edible food.”