Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** east end food institute is well…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** east end food institute is well integrated in the local food system and has a clear vision for improving IT. The first phase of this project is underway and includes the relocation of the well-known riverhead indoor farmers market (now east end food market) to a permanent site and enhancing the market with the ability to accept snap benefits via the double up food bucks program. Grant funding will be usedtoward the build-out of a community kitchen that will support value-added processing of local produce, incubation of small-scale local food and beverage businesses, and community education. This central campus will serve as the headquarters for east end food institute, a nonprofit whose mission is to support, promote, and advocate for a sustainable and equitable local food system.east end food institute has a long history of addressing food insecurity through its farm to food pantry program, and is now partnering with cornell cooperative extension of suffolk county (CCE suffolk) on this grant to add programming targeted toward low-income populations in our region. CCE suffolk's established nutrition education programs bring affordable fruits and vegetables to those suffering from food insecurity, and multilingual nutrition education programs further reinforce proper wellness. With access to east end food institute's commercial kitchen, CCE suffolk will be able to extend its programming to include food demonstrations and cooking education to improve self-reliance for these low-income communities.