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New York

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts) Mon Mar 31, 2014, 05:12 PM Mar 2014

Group says close prisons, help farmers

By Tiffany Brooks

As the state's closure of four upstate prisons pushes forward, a group dedicated to closing prisons and boosting agriculture upstate is pushing for a bill that encourages state facilities to purchase locally grown products.

The group Milk Not Jails staged a picnic on the Million Dollar Staircase in the Capitol last Monday to build support for the Buy from the Backyard Act (S. 978/A.5051) that would require state agencies and institutions with food contracts — such as mental health facilities and SUNY campuses — to purchase at least 20 percent of their food from local farmers.

http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-03-31-87408.113122-Group-says-close-prisons-help-farmers.html

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