N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law § 452

§ 452. Nourish New York program. 1. The commissioner shall, to the\nextent permitted by state or federal appropriations for such purpose,\nfacilitate programming that ensures surplus agricultural products are\nprovided to food relief organizations at competitive wholesale prices.\n 2. The commissioner shall provide technical assistance and information\nabout the program to food relief organizations, producers of surplus\nagricultural products and the public, including, but not limited to,\ninformation posted on the department's website.\n 3. The commissioner shall provide means, which may include posting on\nthe department's website, for producers to make available surplus\nagricultural products and for food relief organizations to access\nsurplus agricultural products.\n 4. The commissioner, in consultation with the department of health,\nshall review the current funding structure, funding adequacy and current\nservice levels of the hunger prevention nutrition assistance program in\nall regions of the state. Review of current service levels shall take\ninto account the size of the service area, the population in need of\nsuch hunger prevention nutrition assistance program and the need for\nadditional facilities within a region in order to address increasing\nfood insecurity and hunger. Following such review, the commissioner\nshall make and report any recommendations, including but not limited to,\nincreasing the maximum amount of money each food pantry may be allocated\nby such program, whether such program funding should be indexed for\ninflation annually, and any structural and funding adequacy changes\ndeemed necessary.\n 5. The commissioner shall review and report on the need to establish a\ngrant program to fund the purchase of cold storage equipment for\nregional food banks, food pantries and other emergency food\norganizations. Such grant program shall prioritize regions of the state\nthat have the highest demand for emergency food and regions of the state\nwhere regional food banks and pantries have determined the need for more\ncapacity to safely store perishable food before such food is\ndistributed. Such report shall be completed and submitted to the\ngovernor and the legislature no later than February first, two thousand\ntwenty-two.\n