This Week's Resources
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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.
Adams backs off full 4% cuts for some agencies in executive budget proposal (City & State New York)
"It’s not just libraries that will be spared the full breadth of the latest round of budget cuts. Agencies including the Department of Sanitation and Department of Homeless Services face reduced cuts." Read more here.
Editor’s note: Jordan Neely’s death shows how homeless people are the ones at risk (City & State New York)
"The death of Jordan Neely revealed a dark side of how homeless people are viewed by some in New York. The 30-year-old homeless man boarded an F train last Monday in a heightened level of distress and ended up dead in a fatal chokehold. The alleged killer, identified in reports as Daniel Penny, is a former Marine from Long Island. Although Neely’s death was ruled a homicide by the New York City medical examiner, no charges were filed at the time this column was written.
Neely’s death revealed how homeless people are dehumanized to the point where their lives are at risk. The government needs to find a way to avoid a repeat of this tragedy. Does the city need a mental health czar to better coordinate such services so others don’t suffer the same fate as Neely?" Read more here.
Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks Launch Major new Citywide Campaign to Dramatically Strengthen Literacy (The Office of the Mayor)
"NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks today launched “New York City Reads,” a major citywide campaign to declare literacy and reading instruction as the core focus and overriding priority of New York City’s public schools. This multi-pronged, long-range campaign renews the commitment of public schools to the primary responsibility of ensuring the city’s students become confident readers and are able to learn basic algebra. With half of New York City students not proficient at reading, and more than two-thirds nationally, Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks today declared that now is the time for the city and nation to act." Read the press release and watch the press conference here.
NYC school enrollment projected to remain steady after steep pandemic losses (the Chalkbeat)
"For the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, New York City’s public schools expect student enrollment to hold mostly steady across the five boroughs in the coming year, according to education department figures released Monday.
Projected enrollment is expected to drop 0.6% in K-12 across many of the city’s public schools, down from a more than 2% decline in the 2022-23 school year and just under 6% drop the year before." Read more here.
Independent Budget Office says Mayor’s projected cost of migrant crisis is overblown, but admin hits back (am New York)
"City Department of Social Services (DSS) boss Molly Wasow Park refuted a new analysis from the city Independent Budget Office (IBO) finding Mayor Eric Adams’ administration’s migrant crisis cost estimate of $4.3 billion is overblown, during a Monday City Council hearing examining her agency’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year.
The analysis estimates the cost of sheltering and providing for an ever-rising number of newly arrived migrants will reach between $2.7 billion and $3.7 billion over this fiscal year and the next — meaning it could be as much as $1.6 billion lower than the administration’s $4.3 billion prediction. City Hall cited the sheer cost of the asylum seeker influx as a reason for making billions of dollars in cuts to city agency spending plans in the mayor’s Fiscal Year 2024 executive budget released last month." Read more here.
NYC Plans to Send Hundreds of Migrants to Stay at Rockland County Hotel for Months (NBC NY)
"New York City is running out of hotel space to turn into shelters for migrants, so now city officials are turning to the Hudson Valley.
The Armani Inn in Orangeburg is set to become the latest migrant shelter after the city cut a deal with the inn’s owners to house hundreds of migrants. But some Rockland County officials and residents who live in the area are not happy with the plan, and are wondering why they were not given any warning or say in the matter.
Up to 300 asylum seekers will be bussed up to two hotels, possibly as soon as Saturday or Sunday. In addition to the Orangeburg hotel, migrants will also be transported to a hotel in the Orange County town of Orange Lake." Read more here.
New York City given more than $30 million in FEMA funding for migrants (Spectrum News)
"New York City seems to finally be getting some financial support from the federal government when it comes to the continued influx of asylum seekers.
On Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it had allocated over $330 million to more than 30 cities and organizations in the first round of funding for migrants.
Of the over $330 million allocated, New York City’s Office of Emergency Management was given $30.5 million.
The funds are meant to help fund food, shelter and services the city is providing to arriving migrants." Read more here.
Americans Go Hungry, Economic Growth Under Pressure as SNAP Benefits Expire (Bloomberg)
"About 8 million Americans that received enhanced food-assistance benefits have been going hungry ever since the program ended earlier this year. It’s also hitting economic growth.
One in four households that received additional pandemic-era food subsidies say they “sometimes” or “often” don’t have enough to eat ever since the program was lifted in 32 states on March 1, according to a Census Bureau analysis published Thursday."
Read more here.
What’s the Best Way to Distribute Food? (Food Bank News)
"Besides sourcing food, giving it out is arguably the most important thing a food bank does. But there does not seem to be general agreement on how best to do it.
Mass drive-through distributions, ushered in by Covid, continue at some food banks, but have been phased out at others. Strategies around traditional pantry networks are evolving, and technology is supporting new ways of distributing food, but with varying levels of uptake.
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Melanie McGuire, Chief Programs Officer at San Antonio Food Bank. “We want to make sure that we’re creating services that meet our clients’ needs, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a cookie-cutter approach.”" Read more here.
NYC Water Bill Help: Here's How To Tap Debt Program (Patch NYC)
"NEW YORK CITY — Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers can get help paying the water bill from the city this month.
An amnesty program that will forgive up to 100 percent interest for nearly 200,000 customers with late water bills is being extended until May 31, said Mayor Eric Adams." Read more here.
After Anti-Asian Hate: A Guide for Asians Recovering from Hate Crimes (Documented)
"Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in several major cities and regions, including New York City. Despite reaching the end of the pandemic, the Asian community continues to bear the lasting impact and wounds of the hate crimes inflicted upon them."
Read more here.
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!