On April 9, the New York State budget was finalized for the fiscal year 2023 and included $400 Million for the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), NY’s “dedicated source of funding for critical environmental programs that protect what we love about New York — our clean drinking water, our magnificent parks, and our family farms” (New Yorkers for Clean Water & Jobs Coalition). Within the EPF, Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Climate Resilient Farming program both received significant funding boosts to help fund soil health work statewide. Huge thanks to members of the policy committee for advocating for this important funding!
This budget season, NOFA-NY joined the Alliance for New York’s Farmland, the New York Grown Food for New York Kids Coalition, the Clean Water & Jobs Coalition, and the NY Renews Coalition to push for investments in farmland preservation, farm to school program expansion, more funding for environmental programming and much-needed investments in fighting the climate crisis. We thank the state legislature for their work securing funding for these essential initiatives.
And last, but certainly not least, NOFA-NY received $150,000 for a project to streamline our organic certification process. Much thanks to Agriculture Committee Chairs, Senator Hinchey, and Assembly Member Lupardo for championing our proposal and helping secure this funding!
Up Next in State Policy
With the budget negotiations in the rearview, legislators are now focused on passing bills before the session ends in June. NOFA-NY is working with coalitions and partners to support several initiatives. You can help support our work by urging New York Lawmakers to:
- #PassNYHealth to guarantee healthcare for all
- Safeguard pollinators, waterways, people, and the future of our food supply by banning unnecessary and harmful neonic uses
- Vote YES on the #FoodFoodNY Bill to give public institutions throughout New York the ability to make decisions that are best for our communities, workers, animals, and the planet
- Support legal services for immigrants by enacting the Access to Representation Act (ARA)
Stay up to date with the latest opportunities to take action on state and federal legislation at NOFA-NY’s Take Action webpage.
Image credit: CC-BY-SA-3.0/Matt H. Wade at Wikipedia