Capital Region’s retail system could get healthy, locally grown food to low-income areas
TROY – The Capital Region can use the existing retail system to deliver healthy food equitably to low-income areas and can expand the distribution of locally grown food, according to findings in the Greater Capital Region Food System Assessment released Wednesday morning.
“We were able to determine that all but two rural communities in the Greater Capital Region have the infrastructure to support healthy food access in small outlets. The current retail food system in the Capital District has the capacity to support community food security if it was to carry more healthy food across the food groups,” Amy Klein, CEO of Capital Roots, said in presenting the report.
A regional effort has to be made to improve the local distribution system to link farms and corner stores and smaller markets, the study found. The report also found that people rely on food pantries to supplement their purchase of food at local stores and markets, not replace it.
“Convening a regional food policy council” may be a way to make changes based on the assessment’s recommendations, Klein said. New York State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said a regional group would be able to leverage relationships to move plans forward.
The study reviewed the regional food system with in-depth looks at the sectors of consumption, distribution, processing, and production with an emphasis on regional producers and low-income consumers.
The four-year assessment covers Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Schoharie, Warren and Washington counties.
“It really is time for the local food movement to focus on supporting the sale of local food through wholesale market channels which helps small producers scale up and regional distributors source locally,” Klein said.
