Blog / Paterson
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Healthy Food Market Fund
The Building Blocks Project has been an outspoken advocate for a revolving loan fund that will finance supermarkets in food desert neighborhoods, in particular supermarkets that provide living-wage jobs to local residents. New York State has a responsibility to guarantee the basic rights of Good Food, Good Jobs, and Good Health to all New Yorkers, and today Governor David Paterson took a step in the right direction when, in his annual State of the State Address, he said:
Today, First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson and I are unveiling a comprehensive strategy to address this challenge. Our five-point plan includes the Healthy Food/Healthy Communities Initiative, which offers a new revolving loan fund that will increase the number of healthy food markets in underserved communities.
The Governor described his motives for the revolving loan program:
One out of every four New Yorkers under 18 years of age is obese.
Childhood obesity causes serious health problems including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. ...These children have much greater risks of having heart attacks, suffering strokes, and losing limbs.
Obesity not only blights our children’s futures — it creates a significant economic burden on our health care spending. New York spends $6.1 billion each year to treat obesity-related health problems— the second-highest level of spending in the nation.
It's reassuring that, even while acknowleding that our first step has to be funding new supermarkets in underserved communities, Governor Paterson didn't just talk about the need for good food access. He also focused on economic issues. Good food is just one component of good health: good jobs are necessary, too.
Paterson made a very important point today when he said, "Preventing illness is a good investment. It saves taxpayer money, improves patient care, and unburdens our economy."
By making the right investments now in good food and good jobs, we can prevent illnesses and make sure that our families and friends are healthy. By investing in supermarkets that have high wage standards, we can ensure that all New Yorkers have the basic building blocks.
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NYS Food Policy Report
FOOD POLICY COUNCIL ISSUES REPORT TO GOVERNOR PATERSON
Report Offers Food Policy Recommendations, Outlines Council’s Activities
The New York State Council on Food Policy today issued its annual report to Governor David A. Paterson. The report, required by Executive Order #13, includes a summary of the Council’s activities over the past year, as well as its recommendations on food policy for 2009 and proposed steps needed to implement the recommendations.
Over the past year, the Council held seven listening sessions around the State, gathering public testimony on the following four priority food policy areas.
· Maximizing participation in food and nutrition assistance programs;
· Strengthening the connection between local food products and consumers;
· Supporting efficient and profitable agricultural food production and food retail infrastructure and;
· Increasing consumer awareness and knowledge about healthy eating; and improving consumer access to safe and nutritious food.An overarching recommendation involves the creation of publicly available inventories of available food, nutrition and agricultural services in New York State. This data will serve as a foundation upon which to build targeted food policy recommendations.
For a copy of the Council on Food Policy’s annual report and all of its recommendations, please visit www.nyscfp.org and click on “Report to Governor”.
The New York State Council on Food Policy was created in 2007 with the recognition that in New York State, agriculture is a critically important industry; that hunger is a serious problem facing many families; that access to affordable, fresh and nutritious food is a serious problem, especially affecting children; and that there are significant environmental, health and economic benefits to the State and its residents from expanding agricultural production. At no time in recent history are these matters more prevalent in society than present.
To learn more about the Council on Food Policy, visit http://www.nyscfp.org or contact the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets at 518-485-7728.
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An iTunes Tax?
Dear WFP Supporter,
Have you seen the details of Gov. Paterson's proposed budget?
There are dozens of regressive taxes -- on sugar, on car registrations, on health insurance, on clothes, on going to the movies, and even a tax on downloading music. In total, billions of dollars in tax hikes on working families.1
At the same time, there are substantial cuts in public services working people rely on -- schools, clinics, libraries, after-school programs, disabled services, and more.
The Governor is asking everyone to sacrifice -- everyone except wealthy New Yorkers who can most afford to do so.
Let's get real. Tough times call for shared sacrifice, from everyone. For some, it will mean budget cuts. For the rich, it should mean paying a little more in taxes to help ease the crisis. It's fair and fiscally sound, but it's glaringly absent from the Governor's plan.
Tell Gov. Paterson and Albany leaders: A fair budget means asking everyone to sacrifice.
On Monday, the WFP released a poll showing 75% of New Yorkers favored a modest tax increase on the rich to help balance the budget.2
That's no surprise. Over the last 30 years, the wealthiest New Yorkers have seen their income taxes cut in half. Now, Donald Trump pays the same state tax rate as the doormen who guard his buildings.3
When the rich don't pay their fair share, the rest of us do. That fact became abundantly clear on Tuesday when the Governor announced his budget plan.
There's a better approach. Asking the wealthy to contribute a little more in taxes would spare New York some of the most painful budget cuts, and spare working families a cost of living increase they can't afford.
This is a winnable fight. The legislature will debate the Governor's proposal and offer its own ideas. If Albany leaders hear our voice, the budget we end up with could be far better than the one the Governor announced Tuesday.
Take two seconds to speak up for a 'fair share' budget.That's all for now,
Dan Cantor
WFP Executive Director
Bertha Lewis, Bob Master, and Sam Williams
WFP Co-Chairs
Sources:1) See the full budget proposal at: http://publications.budget.state.ny.us/eBudget0910/ExecutiveBudget.html
2) "Poll: Raise personal income tax" Albany Times Union, December 15, 2008
3) Institute on Taxation and Economic PolicyHelp Working Families: We can't count on Wall Street. We rely on contributions from ordinary people like you to keep the WFP going. If you'd like to support our work, visit:
http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/contribute.php