The new Farm to Truck program will have stops throughout Putnam County, as well as in Dutchess and Westchester.
July 30, 2024, 10:55 a.m. EDT
PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County is a new
Delivering fresh, locally produced ingredients directly to the community.
“We wanted to officially announce the launch of our Farm to Truck program, which is a free program that delivers farm-fresh produce directly to residents of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess,” Ruby Koch Finberg, agriculture and food systems coordinator for CCE Putnam, told Patch.
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The new program leverages $2 million in grant funding to strengthen food security and promote agriculture. The initiative pays local farmers for their produce and partners with Westchester-based Meals on Main Street to distribute the food through trucks that stop in different neighborhoods. In addition to the trucks, local groceries are sent directly to community organizations such as Second Chance Foods in Brewster and Camino al Éxito Project for All in Pawling.
In June alone, the truck visited about 4,000 area residents and invested $70,000 in local farms, CCE officials said.
The goal of this initiative is to strengthen food systems while ensuring everyone has access to seasonal produce, regardless of economic status.
With support from the New York Food for New York Families program, funded through August 2025 by the USDA and facilitated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Farm to Truck focuses on stocking shelves with locally grown products from nearby farms delivered throughout Putnam, Ossining and Port Chester in Westchester and Pawling in Dutchess County.
Local farms such as Longhaul Farm, Harlem Valley Homestead, Hemlock Hill Farm and Our New Way Garden provide the community with a rich selection of tomatoes, summer strawberries, herbaceous paparo and a variety of other fruits and vegetables, as well as sustainably raised meat, milk and eggs.
“We are excited to announce our ‘Farm to Truck’ initiative, which will directly benefit local residents without bias,” Koch-Fimberg said. “Not only will this program support our farmers, it will also provide convenient, free access to culturally valued, nutritious foods to our neighbors in need.”
According to the United Way, 28 percent of Putnam County households fall under the ALICE framework, meaning 11,000 households are employed but struggling to make ends meet, CCE officials said.
For the latest schedule and more information on the Farm to Truck program, visit their website.
reference:
Putnam Cooperative Extension raises funds for new headquarters for Tilly Foster
