NEWYORK: Faith community leaders attended the New York Interfaith summit titled Faith in Action: Partnering to conquer food disparities held to discuss issues with regard to food disparities and resolving it through faith communities.
The participants were briefed about the Governor Hochul food initiative. They were informed that Governor Hochul’s food agenda can be framed around affordability, child nutrition, food access, local agriculture, emergency food relief, and culturally responsive service delivery.
They were informed that under the Governor’s FY 2026 Enacted Budget included $340 million for Universal Free School Meals, requiring participating public, charter, and nonpublic schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of family income.
Program moderator Rachel Sabella welcomed the participants in the summit. She said that when we talk about food insecurity, we often focus on the number of meals distributed or the number of families served.
She said that food access is about much more than a meal. She said that food access is about whether a parent can put food on the table, a child has access to a nutritious meal when school is out, especially in summer, whether a senior can find food that meets their cultural or religious needs and whether an immigrant family feels comfortable asking for assistance.
She framed four key issues access, dignity, trust and partnership with the participants of the summit who provided their experiences as how can faith communities work with government, nonprofits, and other organizations to create sustainable solutions.
The panelist said that addressing food insecurity is not the responsibility of one agency, one organization, or one faith community. They said that when we provide food with dignity and build partnerships across our communities, we do more than address hunger.
Later, Governor Hochul awarded certificate and award to the founder of Council of Peoples Organization Mohammad Rizvi for providing services to the community including mental health, older adult services, a Halal emergency food pantry, and immigration legal services.
