Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA) is a network of changemakers dedicated to reshaping our region’s food system. They cultivate connection, collaboration, and coordination towards a more just and sustainable food future in Syracuse, Onondaga County, and Onondaga Nation.
Candidates were asked to respond to their questionnaire around key food policy issues affecting Onondaga County. Responses were compiled into a non-partisan voter guide and candidates were invited to speak at a press conference on Monday, September 29th at Haven Community Garden on Lodi Street in Syracuse. See below.
Read this article on The Daily Orange to learn more about this event.
I appreciate all the important work & advocacy that SOFSA does for our community and the opportunity to hear from community advocates from Haven Community Garden, SOFSA, Interfaith Community Collective Food Pantry, SCSD ITC students and a SNAP participant. Community advocates shared how community gardens are amazing needed third spaces that grow food and hope.
Hearing from students on how beneficial & equitable it is that NYS is providing nutritional free lunch & breakfast for every child helps them stay focused and reduces stigma is so important and strengthens our community. The more investment we can provide local farmers to help provide these meals farm to table, the better.
Hearing from the community about building a society that catches you when you fall is what it is all about. Thank you SOFSA for hosting this important event where we are able to hear from one another working towards a better future.
My comments from Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA) candidate press conference on food & hunger issues are below:
Good afternoon, I am Elaine Denton, mom of 3 and community organizer. I am running for County legislator to represent district 10 which includes the villages of Fayetteville and Minoa and the Town of Manlius.
Families are struggling. Rising costs of housing, food, and utilities, now with reduced SNAP benefits, are leaving more and more families with not enough across all of Onondaga county. In the Town of Manlius the FM Food Pantry & Heaven’s Pantry in Minoa are seeing an increase in families they serve.
I am running for county legislator because I know Onondaga County can do more to help our communities. Local governments need to step up to fill funding gaps to make sure people have access to healthy food options and this doesn’t get worse.
Food insecurity is a critical & complex issue and it will take everyone working together to address it. No one solution will solve it. Hunger in our community is impacted by having affordable housing, access to transportation, access to health care, having a healthy lead-free environment, education and so much more.
I grew up on my family’s small dairy farm. My dad’s farm is no longer in operation because it is incredibly hard for small farms to make enough for themselves to live on. Our local agriculture community is a big part of a healthy food system. Partnering with and investing in local businesses so they are sustainable helps our community to thrive.
But we can’t solve a problem if we are not looking at the data to analyze what is working and what’s not. We need to increase transparency in Onondaga County. As an elected official, I would utilize food access data to explore how we can improve food access, provide more educational programs and to encourage local agricultural opportunities.
It’s time to get creative and find new solutions. But first we need to change the county’s current priorities from funding aquariums and corporations to ending hunger in our community.
Thank you.
