This Week's Resources
If you have resources to share with our network, please contact Tobi Mojeed-Balogun our Associate Director of Programs Support.
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
A lot of the news around mandates, vaccines and restrictions have been a little confusing so I will list some resources below that might help.
NYS Department of Health COVID website - It's a one stop shop with an info summary at the top. Link here.
Walgreens COVID Index - there's concerns about the accuracy of some COVID trackers but Wallgreens released one based on their tests. Link here.
NYC Department of Health Monkeypox Webpage - lots of information and resources about the virus with pictures of the rash included. Find the link here.
COVID vs Flu vs RSV info - I found a good article from the Washington post that gives information about three viruses that have been spiking this winter. Read the article here.
The Time Magazine article on the new variant (XBB.1.5) - Link Here
Gothamist article on norovirus, a stomach bug that is hitting the Northeast - Read more here.
Are food insecurity rates in the US being inaccurately reported? (New Food Mag)
"While the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that, in 2021, 10.2 percent of households experienced food insecurity during the year, a new study has argued that figures may have been under-reported.
Carried out by researchers at the University of Southern California, the study claims that, during the first few years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the USDA and some local governments may have underreported the percentage of Americans who experienced food insecurity by up to one-third."
Read more here.
Why Feeding Tampa Bay Dropped Its Backpack Program (Food Bank News)
"School backpack programs have been a mainstay of food banking ever since the first one debuted nearly 30 years ago at the Arkansas Rice Depot (now Arkansas Foodbank). The Feeding America network currently supports backpack programs at more than 10,000 schools and institutions, serving more than 54 million meals in 2022 alone.
The overwhelming popularity of the programs makes Feeding Tampa Bay a bit of an outlier. About five years ago, it halted its backpack program, after conducting research that uncovered what it felt were serious shortcomings.
Now the Florida-based food bank is all in on school pantries, supporting 75 of them across five school districts, up from a pilot of eight in 2018. While it’s not the only food bank to support school pantries – the Feeding America network operates nearly 4,000 of them – it may be the only one with extreme clarity about why school pantries work better than traditional backpack programs."
Read more here.
Organizations Serving Chinese Immigrants in New York (Documented)
"For many newly arrived Chinese immigrants, one of their primary concerns is to quickly adapt to the new environment in the U.S., learn how to obtain important information related to daily necessities, and utilize local resources to thrive. In a survey conducted last year, we asked over 900 Chinese immigrants where they would suggest a new Chinese immigrant seek help or participate in local activities to get involved in the community quickly. 75% of respondents mentioned community organizations or social services as the top category of answers. As a news organization that serves the immigrant community, Documented has compiled a comprehensive guide for Chinese immigrants. This article features organizations that serve Chinese immigrants and is part of our Guide to Resources for Chinese Immigrants in NYC."
Read more here.
NYC promises affordable child care to undocumented families through voucher program (Chalkbeat)
"Next month, New York City will begin providing subsidized child care to low-income, undocumented families, who typically can’t access such services because of their immigration status.
The $10 million initiative, called Promise NYC, is expected to serve 600 children over the next six months, city officials announced Wednesday. It also aims to help the influx of asylum-seeking families from South America who have come to New York City over the past several months."
Read more here.
Timeline fast tracked for rethinking Regents exams and other grad requirements (Chalkbeat)
"The fate of New York’s storied Regents exams — and other changes to high school graduation requirements — may be decided sooner than anticipated, state education officials confirmed Monday.
After years of discussing how New York’s graduation policies should change, officials launched a special commission last year to present recommendations to the Board of Regents by the spring or summer of 2024. Their findings are now expected in November, Deputy Commissioner Angelique Johnson said at Monday’s monthly Board of Regents meeting."
Read more here.
New Yorkers in Need: Food Insecurity and Nutritional Assistance Programs
Thank you to Susan Fowler and our Friends at Staten Island Hunger Task Force and Christ Church, New Brighton for sharing this report on food insecurity from the State Comptroller.
"Millions of New Yorkers face daily challenges as a result of living at or near the federal poverty level, resulting in painful choices related to basic needs such as shelter, health care, food and transportation. Often, the result is hunger or food insecurity, which is uncertainty or inability to get enough food because of a lack of resources. The consequences can be devastating, from increased incidence of chronic disease and other health effects to reduced academic performance to an inability to succeed at the workplace.
...
This report is the second in the “New Yorkers in Need” series. It details recent trends in food insecurity, explains policy interventions by the federal and State governments, and demonstrates a clear need for a continuing commitment to reduce the incidence of food insecurity. While income is a critical factor in determining food insecurity, there are many other challenges that can present barriers to accessing healthy food. Federal and State leaders must make efforts to address these challenges to continue to make progress in reducing food insecurity and improve the lives and productivity of millions of New Yorkers.
Thomas P. DiNapoli State Comptroller"
Teacher Needed at St. Ann's Summer Enrichment Program
Our friends at St. Ann's Church in the Bronx are looking for a new teacher for their Summer Enrichment program. If you want more information, know any good candidates, or have any suggestions please contact Wendy Canas at canaw47@gmail.com. The job description can be found here. Applications are due April 30th.
Hudson Link Employer Toolkit
Our friends at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison put together an employer toolkit for hiring formerly incarcerated people. Thank you to Sean Pica, Eldredge Blalock, Elisabeth Santiago, and the rest of the team at Hudson Link for this important resource. The toolkit can be found here. If you have any questions about hiring formerly incarcerated people, please contact Elisabeth Santiago from Hudson Link's Alumni Services at esantiago@hudsonlink.org.
Community Food Funders Newslink
Community Food Funders has opened up their newsletter to a wider audience (so not just food funders). "Each month, CFF compiles a newsletter with news, articles, reports, and events for those in our region interested in an equitable and sustainable food system." Highlights on this month's newsletter include:
Elevating and Mobilizing Voices from across New York to Advocate for an Equitable 2023 Farm Bill - May 25, 1-2:30pm ET - Zoom webinar - To engage New Yorkers in shaping the 2023 Farm Bill, Equity Advocates, Black Farmers United NYS, and Food for the Spirit launched a collaborative statewide Farm Bill campaign beginning with developing a community-informed policy platform. They prioritized outreach to and participation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers, producers, & practitioners in NY State, ultimately hearing from over 300 New Yorkers. The resulting policy platform represents a collective voice from NYS community food leaders, farmers, gardeners, land stewards, producers, and advocates. Join us to hear from these groups on the importance of the Farm Bill for NY food and farming efforts, and their collaborative campaign
Upcoming USDA Spring Grant Opportunities - Deadlines are approaching for various USDA Grants, including those listed below. Find the full list here:
Regional Food System Partnerships (Deadline 5/2). RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on building and strengthening local or regional food economy viability and resilience, and this includes pandemic response and recovery. Applicants will work with their partners to catalyze the development of local or regional food systems. Applicants will coordinate efforts within the partnership to set priorities, connect resources and services, and measure progress towards common goals.
Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program – USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (Deadline 5/4). The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is requesting applications for projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by providing fruit and vegetable incentives to consumers shopping with their USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps. The incentives increase consumer purchasing power through “double-up-bucks” programs when buying fruits and vegetables.
and more
2023 Champions Award Accepting Nominations - In 2017, the Community Food Funders steering committee created the Champions Award to recognize the organizations empowering food system change in our region. The award aims to promote the work of an outstanding organization that is working towards the transition of our food system to one that pursues a true triple bottom line: a system that honors and values people, the environment, and sustainable economic models. We are now accepting nominations for the 2023 award. Anyone may submit a nomination, and organizations may self-nominate. Deadline: May 12, 2023.
Field Hall Foundation Accepting LOI's - Field Hall Foundation is accepting Letters of Inquiry for its Fall 2023 grant cycle. The Foundation supports programs and projects that directly improve the lives of low-income older adults and their caregivers in Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester Counties. Priority is given to programs that address their most basic needs, including food insecurity. Eligibility requirements and a Letter of Inquiry Cover Sheet with instructions are on their website: Deadline: May 31.
2023 Farm Bill Listening Session - April 26, 2023 2pm-4pm EDT - Virtual - The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) is pleased to announce a series of listening sessions on the 2023 Farm Bill. These sessions will complement a series of roundtable discussions held in 2022 by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and permit OTDA to gain additional perspectives regarding the Farm Bill’s Nutrition Title.
Equity Advocates Workshop Series - Various Dates - Virtual - Equity Advocates hosts an annual series of policy workshops designed to build the advocacy capacity of community food leaders. Our virtual trainings are free & open to Food systems stakeholders in New York. The next training, on April 27, 2023 is: NYC Food Governance: Who Makes Food Policy Decisions at the City Level? Sign up for the virtual workshop here, and view the full list of workshops taking place through September on their website.
Dyson Foundation Mini-Grant Program - The Dyson Foundation’s mini-grant program funds capacity-building projects that improve a nonprofit’s administrative, governance, or programmatic functions. Mini-grants enable nonprofit board, staff, and volunteer leaders to develop new skills through specific consultant-led capacity-building activities, or through conferences, seminars, and other relevant training opportunities. Mini-grants are available to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and libraries in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Grants are available on a rolling basis.
I will continue to include highlights from each month's newsletter on our weekly resource round-ups but if you would like to subscribe yourself, the link is here. The link to last month's newsletter is here and their archive is here.
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That's all for this week -- thanks for all you do!