New York City Council

New York City Government Agencies

One New York is the city’s planning document to ensure a growing, thriving, just and equitable, sustainable and resilient city. While the plan has many focus areas, food systems issues are mainly addressed in the Industry Expansion and Cultivation (where there is an emphasis on supporting the food production and distribution industry), Healthy Neighborhoods, Active Living, and Zero Waste sections. The Healthy Neighborhoods, Active Living section has an overarching goal of improving food access, affordability and quality in a more sustainable and resilient food system. This large-scale goal is supported by initiatives such as investing in and utilizing regional food systems, improving school food quality, ensuring access to fresh food retail across all communities — but especially traditionally underserved communities — and supporting community gardens/urban farms in underserved communities. Zero Waste focuses on expanding the NYC Organics program to serve all New Yorkers by processing more food waste and assessing the long-term feasibility of the program, expanding composting programs to all five boroughs, and reducing food waste in the commercial sector. Since the plan’s adoption in 2015, the city has begun to administer a number of projects/programs aimed at improving food environments and addressing access and nutrition disparities. Such programs include the City’s Healthy Bucks program and Shop Healthy NYC. In 2018, the City of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) expanded its curb-side food waste collection program to the 17 remaining community districts in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. For residents who opt out of the curb-side program, DSNY funds and manages food scrap drop-off sites at various locations, which have increased from 34 sites in 2015 to 98 sites in 2018.