Welcome to the FSNYC Policy Blog

New York and the world reels with the repercussions of financial market
meltdown, it may go unnoticed that there are numerous important
developments in the city and in the world related to the crisis of food
access and heightened efforts to address solutions for both the city's
and the global food crisis.

This is the first of future postings from contributors to the new
Food Systems Network food policy blog. Among developments in the city
are new initiatives of Brooklyn and Manhattan boroughs to bring
attention to deepening food insecurity due to higher food prices and
increasing disparities in food access in certain neighborhoods. We will
share policy mapping exercises for New York City networks and
organizations.

Posts will address the communities most vulnerable to high priced
foods and center on the rising use of food stamps, demands stretching
the resources of food banks and other nutrition programs, the loss of
supermarkets and the poor working conditions for immigrants in stores
and restaurants that offer high priced and organic foods. This negative
trend contrasts with growing demand for food justice and affordable
local foods from urban and regional farms for schools, bodegas and
farmers markets. Both the challenges and opportunities will be covered
in future posts.

Blog contributors will address multiple dimensions of what is
unfolding in the food policy landscape of New York, including how
national and even international developments relate to and impact the
local food scene. We will hear about how the recent Farm Bill impacts
New York, how child hunger and nutrition will be addressed by the feds
in 2009. We will hear about projects, campaigns and events in New York
to address food access disparity, health consequences and about
exciting innovations – and the vital role of policy in addressing
disparity and promoting lasting solutions.

In just one week, on World Food Day on October 16, a call for
action in response to the food crisis will be unveiled at 7 pm in the
Great Hall of Cooper Union. Hosted by World Hunger Year on behalf of a
US Food Crisis Working Group, this event will bring local and national
food and farm movement leaders to call for a more comprehensive and
sustainable response to the food crisis that worldwide has led to 100
million new hungry and food riots in nearly 40 countries. For more
information, see details at World Hunger Year.

If you are interested in posting a blog to this site, send for posting guidelines to info@foodsystemsnyc.org.

From Thomas Forster and Nevin Cohen, FSNYC policy blog hosts