Feeding America

Product Updates

USDA Beans

Food Safety and Sanitation Supplies

* Eligible FSS for Food Pantries

FOOD SAFETY AND SANITATION SUPPLIES (FSS)

In an effort to ensure that Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) eligible programs are following food safety guidelines for storing and distributing food, the funding for Food Safety and Sanitation Supplies (FSS) is provided by the New York State Department of Health’s HPNAP.

FSS is free for eligible food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters to order through Agency Express. These items can be identified with the prefix ‘SS’. The supplies is limited and availability is based on funding.

All of the FSS products listed above are available to soup kitchens and emergency shelters that prepare meals. 

GARDEN ON THE GO KITS UPDATE 

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Garden on the Go kits will be available beginning Monday, May 13, 2019 via Agency Express until mid-August. Each Garden on the Go kit will contain 20 fabric root pouches, at least 20 seed packets, seedlings (as available), and instruction handouts. 

The Garden on the Go kits will be delivered to agencies with its regular delivery or during pick-up. Please note: the agency is responsible for purchasing six to eight bags of topsoil.

Garden on the Go kits can be accomplished throughout the growing season with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Please see our planting suggestions below as a guide of what to plant (May-August):

  • After the last frost in May: Beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce seedlings, kale, pepper seedlings, radishes, and spinach seeds.
  • Throughout June: Cucumbers, eggplant, herbs, tomato seedlings, pepper seedlings, onions, and squash seeds.
  • End of July: Kale, lettuce, peas, radishes, and spinach seeds.
  • Middle of August: Beets, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, peas, and turnip seeds.

View more "Growing and Harvesting in New York" information here.

For questions or more information, please contact Andrea Flood, Community Nutrition Educator, at (315) 437-1899 ext. 222.

IMPORTANT USDA BEANS DISTRIBUTION UPDATE 

As you are likely aware, Food Bank of Central New York is the recipient of a variety of food items through the United States Department of Agriculture’s TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program). These items are stored, transported, and distributed to our partner agencies at no cost- a tremendous asset in the ongoing fight against hunger.

Guidelines from USDA provide a timeline in which the Food Bank must complete the transaction of product shipment to your agencies. In order to remain in compliance with USDA, from time to time we must expedite product movement out of our facility, into the agencies and, ideally, the homes of people who depend on all of us. We are currently in the process of expediting distribution of three items, all non-perishable, listed above.

We are asking all USDA eligible agencies to take to take an equal share of the on hand inventory of these items: 5 cases of pinto beans, 5 cases of kidney beans and 8 cases of lentils (18 total cases). When possible, the products will be included with your scheduled deliveries and/or pick up orders in the month of May. These products are nutritious, versatile, and manageable for anyone with basic cooking equipment. We firmly believe that dried beans and legumes are valuable items that can greatly assist people in their efforts to build a healthy, self-sufficient lifestyle.

We recommend the following Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables recipes featuring these TEFAP food items:

Recipes are also available on the Just Say Yes to Fruits & Vegetables and the United States Department of Agriculture websites.

If you do not wish to receive these items, please notify Michelle Mengel, Agency Relations Representative, at mmengel@foodbankcny.org.

NEW USDA FRESH PRODUCE

Food Bank of Central New York has been able to procure multiple truckloads of fresh fruits and vegetables through the USDA. Listed are the expected products by month. Quantities of some of the items will be high (oranges in particular), please consider distributing accordingly.

JUNE 2019

  • Apples
  • Oranges

JULY 2019

  • Grapes
  • Potatoes

© 2019 Food Bank of Central New York
Food Bank of Central New York is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
EIN #22-2816988 Tax Exempt #191474

Charity Navigator State of New York Department of Health United Way of Central New York United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area New York Farm Bureau Food Bank Association of New York State