Governor Kathy Hochul (sixth from left) and different officals have fun the completion of $45 million NYS Regional Meals Hub within the Bronx on June 17, 2025. Hunts Level-Primarily based Meals Hub will enhance entry to wholesome meals for underserved populations. Facility will improve meals distribution by 600 %, creating 200 new jobs and can join upstate farms to downstate markets.
Darren McGee/ Workplace of Governor Kathy Hochul
On Tuesday, June 18, Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced the completion of the New York State Regional Meals Hub, a $45 million cold-storage facility that can rework meals entry throughout New York.
Hochul stated the first-of-its-kind 60,000-square-foot facility, operated by GrowNYC within the Hunts Level neighborhood of the Bronx, will allow a 600 % improve in domestically sourced meals distribution—from roughly 3 million kilos to twenty million kilos yearly by 2034—whereas creating over 200 new jobs and offering a crucial financial lifeline to New York farmers.
The governor stated the ability, supported by $19 million from New York State, as beneficial by the New York Metropolis Regional Financial Growth Council, represents a joint State and Metropolis funding designed to strengthen the native meals economic system, assist New York farmers, and enhance entry to wholesome and reasonably priced meals for low-income communities.
“The New York State Regional Meals Hub is a game-changer for households and farmers throughout New York,” Hochul stated. “From the streets of the Bronx to the farms of Batavia, the Empire State has a lot to supply. That’s why we invested on this huge GrowNYC facility to broaden entry to recent, native meals whereas creating new financial alternatives for our agricultural producers.”
Empire State Growth President, CEO, and Commissioner Hope Knight stated, “We’re proud to assist this transformative infrastructure that can create jobs and dramatically broaden entry to reasonably priced, wholesome meals for New Yorkers.
“ESD’s strategic funding enhances the effectivity, sustainability, and fairness of our state’s meals system by connecting upstate farmers on to downstate markets, guaranteeing city households have entry to the standard produce they deserve,” she added. “The New York State Regional Meals Hub represents a mannequin funding that can profit communities throughout our state.”
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball stated, “The New York State Regional Meals Hub is designed to be a sport changer for our farmers bringing merchandise to market and for our households, who can have better entry to high quality New York-grown vegetables and fruit.
“We realized through the pandemic that we wanted to double down on our efforts to strengthen the meals provide chain and guarantee that we had a meals system proper right here in New York that was resilient and will feed its communities,” he added. “This Meals Hub is an incredible piece of that puzzle and can present an unbelievable profit to our underserved populations and farmers.”
GrowNYC President and CEO Marcel Van Ooyen stated, “We’re past grateful for the huge assist from metropolis and state leaders that led to the completion of this state-of-the-art facility, and that can advance our work in selling equitable meals entry in New York. Our Meals Hub offers ample alternatives for GrowNYC and farmers to make a tangible affect on the on a regular basis lives of underserved New Yorkers. I’m hopeful it will likely be a scalable mannequin for the way cities throughout the US can fight starvation whereas supporting native farm methods.”
Hochul stated the Meals Hub will allow GrowNYC to quadruple its aggregation and distribution sq. footage, dramatically increasing wholesale distribution capability to make recent, native meals accessible to underserved New Yorkers.
She stated the ability would serve wholesale patrons, together with establishments and eating places, whereas strengthening progressive partnerships with nonprofit organizations.
Constructing on GrowNYC’s present work distributing free produce by means of the New York State Division of Agriculture and Markets New York Meals for New York Households program — which unites a community of 20 neighborhood companions, together with Graham Windham and The POINT, to serve the Hunts Level neighborhood and past — the governor stated the expanded Hub will considerably scale these important meals entry efforts.
She stated the New York Metropolis Financial Growth Company, the New York Metropolis Council, the US Financial Growth Administration, Financial institution of America, and others supplied further funding.
The governor stated the ability addresses a crucial want recognized through the COVID-19 pandemic when meals insecurity in New York Metropolis grew from 1.4 million residents to roughly 2 million.
By sourcing meals straight from regional farms and creating new jobs, she stated the Hub will assist New York State farmers — minimal- and mid-sized operations — whereas growing meals distribution capability and enhancing entry to New York Metropolis’s wholesale market.
Hochul stated the processing facility will help upstate producers and processors in concentrating on institutional and personal sector procurement alternatives, considerably boosting New York’s agricultural economic system whereas constructing a extra resilient meals provide chain.
