City of Rochester Launches New Community Food System Plan to Combat Rising Food Insecurity
The City of Rochester, New York, has initiated a new community food system plan aimed at addressing the growing issue of food insecurity. This comes as nearly one in five Rochester residents are food insecure, a rate that has increased significantly since the pandemic, according to the latest Feeding America report. Elizabeth Murphy, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, noted that while food insecurity rates were declining pre-pandemic, several major events, including federal policy changes and the rollback of SNAP benefits, have exacerbated the challenge. The city's new food map is designed to help organizations like Foodlink and local community groups strategically plan food distribution. The map categorizes areas based on risk factors such as poverty and lack of access to healthy, affordable food options, using shades of orange for highest need areas and purple for areas with slightly better, but still limited, access to grocers. The i...
