New York has an opportunity to rethink what affordability and local food actually mean.

You don't have to look hard to find worker-owned cooperatives, community food hubs, local distributors, and independent growers that have built the infrastructure needed to move fresh food from farms throughout the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, western New York, New York City, and beyond. That's exactly what Brooklyn Supported Agriculture (BSA), the organization I co-founded with Shawn Santana in 2016, does as a worker-owned cooperative focused on changing the food system. However, one key hindrance to our local ecosystem is institutional food procurement—a process that allows institutions such as universities and hospitals to source food and other services from the lowest bidder.

We have built a food system that treats food like any other commodity. Consumers expect the lowest price. Contracts are awarded to entities—in this case, farm and food aggregators—that can supply food and services at the lowest cost. This means that large corporations, institutions, and agencies can maximize their bottom lines. But the farmers and farmworkers growing our food and the small businesses trying to make fair prices work for everyone get squeezed.

For me, this is where the tension lives.

While the cheapest offer wins, food quality and fair wages are often disregarded, failing to reflect the true cost of growing food. The result is a system where schools, hospitals, and senior centers receive inexpensive food that is likely not the most nutritious. This begs the question of why we aren't prioritizing the health of our elders and youth. At BSA, we are always doing a delicate dance to get our farmers the highest price we can for the labor and care they put into growing our food, while making sure we offer prices our customers can afford.

It has been encouraging to see legislation such as the Good Food NY Bill that pushes municipalities to “consider other factors when determining best value,” rather than just the lowest cost. The bill, inspired by The Good Food Purchasing Program, supports institutions in shifting toward a values-based procurement model that prioritizes five key aspects: local economies, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, nutrition, and a valued workforce, to hold institutions more accountable in their practices and procurement decisions. Focused on supporting small and historically marginalized farmers and food vendors, this is a step in the right direction toward creating an equitable, local food system while helping organizations like BSA secure larger contracts.

Read the full article about investing in New York's local food infrastructure by Steph Wiley at The New Harvest.