Good Food Buffalo Coalition, Assembly Majority Leader call on Hochul to sign Good Food NY bill

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, standing with members of Good Food Buffalo Coalition, gathered on Thursday to call upon Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Good Food NY bill , a bill aimed at improving food purchasing for public schools, hospitals and other municipal institutions by considering factors other than lowest purchasing price.

In a nutshell, the bill aims at amending the state's restrictive procurement law and provides that certain purchase contracts can be awarded to a qualified bidder who fulfills certain standards when such bid is not more than 10% higher than the lowest responsible bidder, creating a more equitable food system, according to the advocates.

"Currently, municipalities across New York State are mandated by law to buy food from the lowest bidder. But what does this do? This incentivizes a race to the bottom and comes at a cost to our communities, our Earth and our animals, both in the short and long term," explained Jessica Gilbert-Overland, co-founder of the Good Food Buffalo Coalition.

"The Good Food NY bill creates a more transparent food system and a path for public institutions like our schools, hospitals, jails and senior centers to direct the hundreds of millions of dollars they spend annually on food that supports our local farmers, farm workers and food economies, prioritizing the health of our communities and environment and supports food workers, and prioritizes racial equity and ensures animals are treated humanely."

The bill has already been passed in the New York State Senate and Assembly during the last legislative session. According to Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes, the governor has until the end of December to sign the bill.

"I cannot see any reason why her legal counsel will find a reason not to want to support local business to compete in the procurement market for the purchase of food in and around our municipalities and our communities," said Peoples-Stokes.

"It's critical legislation that will add to the value of providing sustainable food in and around our communities. Why can't we be able to get those from a local area, as opposed to someone who ships it in on an 18 wheeler?"

"The message is simple," says Gilbert-Overland. Public money should reflect our community's values and the good food. This bill removes barriers that have prevented public institutions from practicing values based food procurement. There's absolutely no reason why every dollar we spend in this state cannot result in good jobs, racial equity, environmental sustainability and animal welfare, as well as high quality foods that build up our local communities and economies.

We are urging Governor Hochul to act quickly by signing the Good Food New York bill into law, thereby removing the mandate that imposed on our municipalities to buy food from the lowest responsible bidder, and giving municipalities the option to buy food that aligns with their values and our values we need the good food."