Congressman Dan Goldman Works to Strengthen Food Supply Chains and Protect Essential Workers

The ‘Grocery, Farm, and Food Worker Stabilization Act’ Would Provide Funds to Cover Disaster-Related Costs for Farm, Grocery, and Meatpacking Workers

Read the Bill Here

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in introducing the ‘Grocery, Farm, and Food Worker Stabilization Act’, which would help cover disaster-related costs for essential farm, grocery, and meatpacking workers.

“The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted and exacerbated many ugly undercurrents in our society, including the extreme fragility of food supply chains,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “It is imperative that we learn from those experiences and bolster food supply chain resiliency efforts. As climate change increases the strength and frequency of natural disasters across the country, we must ensure our food workers have the support they need to keep our communities fed even in the face of emergencies.”

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) Grant Program to help farm, grocery, and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs. The FFWR Grant Program distributed nearly $680 million in grant funding to meat processing, grocery store, and farm workers for expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, FFWR was a one-time grant program. The ‘Grocery, Farm, and Food Worker Stabilization Act’ would make a similar grant program permanently available so that Congress can provide support to frontline workers during emergencies.

Congressman Goldman is committed to expanding access to food assistance and supporting America's frontline workers.

In May 2023, the Congressman cosponsored the ‘Enhance Access to SNAP (EATS) Act’ to address the growing crisis of food insecurity among college students. The legislation would specifically remove barriers to accessing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for college students.

In July, Goldman convened a town hall to discuss strategies for combatting food insecurity and share information about New York State’s Summer EBT program, which provides funding for eligible families to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets, and other SNAP-authorized retailers.

Last month, Goldman cosponsored the ‘Food Nutrition Delivery Safety Act’, which would require authorized SNAP retailers to pay delivery workers good wages, ensure SNAP groceries are delivered safely, and protect SNAP users’ online data.

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