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Last week the Brooklyn Food Coalition, in partnership with the Healthy Steps Committee of PS 10’s PTA, and the Park Slope Food Circle, hosted a food policy debate with candidates for New York City Council in Brooklyn’s 39^th district (which includes parts of Bensonhurst, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace).

The candidates had diverse backgrounds with respect to food policy in Brooklyn. Joe Nardiello (Republican), born and raised in Brooklyn has been a Park Slope Food Co-op member for the past five years. Brad Lander (Democrat) attended the Brooklyn Food Conference, and worked on development of East NY farms, which is a model of inner city farming and food organizing. David Pechefsky (Green) has a direct familial connection with farming as his mom grew up on their family’s farm in Kansas.  He is passionate about creating a real “food democracy”.

Each candidate was asked to present their position on initiatives currently before the city council, first among these the proposed Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program. FRESH would help bring supermarkets to underserved neighborhoods by offering zoning and financial incentives to property owners, developers and grocery store operators. However, the legislation does not address the quality of the produce that would be sold, for example, only the quantity, which raises some concerns. Lander expressed support for supermarkets in underserved neighborhoods as a means of promoting public health.  He would like to see standards set for food quality. Pechefsky prefered alternatives to the supermarket model, such as CSAs and co-ops, and encouraged the idea of seeking a range of ways to get healthy food into city neighborhoods.

The second council initiative discussed was the Paid Sick Time Act. This bill would require private employers to provide paid sick time to employees in New York City, including restaurant workers. Restaurant workers often can’t afford to stay home because they are paid laid low wages and sometimes lose their jobs if they take time off.  As a result, many workers in the food industry go to work when sick, increasingly the likelihood of spreading illness, which is a public health concern. Lander and Pechefksy both expressed support for the bill. However, Nardiello expressed concern for the small business owners, stating that giving workers paid sick time will cut into the already tight budgets of these small businesses.

On the topic of school food, Lander explained that the city council can’t direct the school system’s purchasing decisions and thus can’t mandate that food from local farms be sourced into school kitchens. He recommended that teachers and parents organize  grassroots/community campaigns to influence the schools directly. Pechefsky agreed, saying that the city council responds to the movement and when pressure is applied in a certain area, people in power will react. At the beginning of the debate, P.S. 10 Principal Laura Scott noted that the school has brought in nutritionists to do workshops with the kids and that the “Healthy Steps” committee, which co-sponsored the debate, hosts a lecture series, and health expo during the school year. These are small steps that can  effect a school’s population immediately, rather than waiting for policy change.

I was eagerly anticipating the candidates’ answers to the questions Nancy Romer (member of the Brooklyn Food Coalition ) posed: “What are your top three demands from the Brooklyn Food Coalition? In terms of grassroots pressure, what should community members be working on to influence food policy?”

I am disappointed to say that there weren’t many concrete actions recommended by the candidates. On the one hand, it’s great to see council candidates talking about these issues and there were certainly important topics that were addressed. However, at times it seemed that there were no thorough answers from any of the three candidates. In fact, the newly elected Lander said that he doesn’t think he should be telling people what to work on. When Lander takes office in January, it will be necessary to show him that food issues affect the lives of New Yorkers in countless ways. This debate told us that grassroots efforts will be critical to steering legislation and policy change. Thanks to the organization of the Brooklyn Food Coalition and like-minded grassroots groups, it seems local food policy, which is critical to the future health and well-being of New Yorkers will be dictated by the demands of the people.