Yearly Archives: 2016

Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute and long-time Hunger Action Network board member, has been a tireless advocate for low income New Yorkers for over 20 years in Albany. He led the Statewide Emergency Network for Social and Economic Security (SENSES, a statewide  anti-poverty advocacy organization) for 13 years and has been the  Director of FPI’s sister 501(c)(4) organization, New Yorkers for  Fiscal Fairness for the past 8 years. Ron is now serving as the Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute. Ron is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany. He also leads an all-volunteer non-profit (www.thegivingcircle.org) that works to help improve the lives of families in the Capital District, nationally and internationally. He also serves on the board of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Hunger Action Network honored Ron for all his great work with the second Rob Schwartz Making a Difference award on November 18, 2018 at the launch of its Hunger Hurts: The Human Right to Food Campaign event in New York City.

Rob Schwartz, a long time Hunger Action Network board member, died after a very brief illness a few years ago. He leaves behind a legacy to be very proud of. Rob was an activist, a man of faith, devoted father and dancer. Much of his life was dedicated to caring […]

ALBANY ─ 144 supporters of the ‘Farm to Food Bank’ tax credit bill released a letter today urging
Governor Cuomo to sign it into law. A statewide coalition of New York’s agriculture sector, antihunger community, and environmental advocates have united in support of bill S.7833
(sponsored by Senator Funke)/A.10584 (sponsored by Assemblymember Moya), which
represents a win-win-win for New York’s farming families, the environment, and the hungry men,
women, and children who rely on emergency food agencies in every county of the state. After
the bill was vetoed last year, the Legislature worked to address the administration’s concerns
and it was passed unanimously by both houses in June 2016.

“New York farmers are some of the most generous, donating millions of pounds of food to stock
the shelves of food banks, but they want to do more and, with our help, they can. The Farm to
Food Bank bill I passed this year will remove some of the financial barriers farmers face when
trying to donate food by offsetting some of the costs they incur getting the food to those in
need through a tax credit. This is not only an upstate issue or a downstate issue. It is not only a
poverty issue or a farmers’ issue. I am extremely proud to see the coalition of environmentalists,
humanitarians, anti-hunger groups, food banks, and farmers that has come together to show the
magnitude of the cause. We are urging the Governor to sign this legislation so that […]