Bill Text: NY K00598 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 2023, as Farmers Market Appreciation Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-01 - adopted [K00598 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K00598-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 598

BY: M. of A. Barrett

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        June 2023, as Farmers Market Appreciation  Month  in
        the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize
Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim  June  2023,  as  Farmers   Market
Appreciation Month in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS,  Farmers'  markets  provide consumers with access to a wide
range of high quality, nutritious, farm fresh  and  processed  New  York
State agricultural and food products; and

  WHEREAS,  Farmers'  markets  build  links  in New York State between
upstate and downstate, rural and urban communities; and

  WHEREAS, Farmers' markets bring healthy eating to neighborhoods that
lack fresh foods, and to many individuals who  might  not  otherwise  be
able to afford quality produce; and

  WHEREAS,  Farmers'  markets  provide affordable, convenient, healthy
food, as well as  increased  access  to  fresh  fruits  and  vegetables,
thereby promoting health and fighting childhood obesity; and

  WHEREAS,  Local  food  supports  the  local  economy; it keeps local
family farms in business, and family farms generally buy local; and

  WHEREAS, Farmers' markets contribute to the economic  revitalization
of the areas in which the markets are located; and

  WHEREAS,  Local  food  builds  community;  when  an  individual buys
directly from a farmer, they learn where their food comes from, engaging
in a time-honored connection between grower and consumer; and

  WHEREAS, Farmers' markets promote  food  safety  by  humanizing  the
connections   between   growers   and  consumers  and  promoting  local,
sustainable farming; and

  WHEREAS, Talking with farmers educates consumers about the  seasons,
the  land,  and  farming; farmers' markets create a place where families
with children or grandchildren can learn about nature  and  agriculture;
and

  WHEREAS,  Local  food  preserves genetic diversity, as smaller local
farms grow many different varieties to provide a  long  harvest  season;
and

  WHEREAS,  Local farms preserve open space; farmers who improve their
bottom line by marketing locally can afford to stay in their  farms  and
are less likely to sell their farmland for development; and

  WHEREAS, Well-managed farms conserve fertile soil and clean water in
our communities; the farm environment is a patchwork of fields, meadows,
woods, ponds, and buildings that provide habitat for wildlife; and


  WHEREAS,  Local  foods that travel short distances use significantly
less energy; for example, it takes 435 fossil-fuel  calories  to  fly  a
five-calorie strawberry from California to New York; and

  WHEREAS, Local food is an investment in the future; supporting local
farmers ensures that there will be farms in your community tomorrow; and

  WHEREAS,  Farmers'  markets  help to develop local and regional food
systems that  support  family  farms,  revitalize  communities,  provide
opportunities   for   farmers   and   consumers   to  interact,  promote
environmental sustainability, and support our economy in New York State;
now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim June 2023, as Farmers
Market Appreciation Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.