NYC Food Industry Calls for Exemptions to Congestion Pricing

Baldor Specialty Foods is leading a coalition of food industry businesses urging exemptions from New York City's congestion pricing plan, which is due to take effect in January.

With a congestion pricing plan that would charge a toll for vehicles traveling into or within the central business district of Manhattan slated for implementation in January 2025, a newly formed coalition of more than 100 food distributors, trade associations, wholesale markets, food banks, restaurateurs and small businesses, led by Bronx, N.Y.-based Baldor Specialty Foods, is urging that they be exempted from the plan. Coalition members include Chefs’ Warehouse, Crafted Hospitality, e-grocer FreshDirect, Acme Smoked Fish and Pierless Fish.

According to the group, while reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality are key goals, they shouldn’t come at the expense of New York City’s food supply chain, small businesses, public-health efforts or hunger relief efforts. In a letter sent to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office last week, the coalition laid out its chief concerns regarding the plan: that more than 60% of New York City’s produce comes through the Bronx’s Hunts Point Market, with trucks as the only viable distribution method; the financial strain on local business, which is likely to raise prices across the supply chain, ultimately burdening consumers; and higher costs or lower availability of healthy foods potentially having a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, undermining the city’s public-health goals.

To find out more, Progressive Grocer reached out to Margaret Magnarelli, Baldor’s VP marketing and communications. “The reality is that 99% of the food served and sold in New York City comes from outside the congestion zone – and it can’t come in by subway or bus,” Magnarelli told PG. “So retailers will experience the impact of congestion pricing directly (on their own trucks) or indirectly (in cascading food pricing). At Baldor, we will aim to absorb as much of this cost as we can to shield our customers, but smaller companies may not have that capability. Additionally, retailers may see distributors requesting delivery times to less expensive night hours. Overall, this will undoubtedly be a challenging adjustment for the whole New York City food distribution system.”

Asked what the coalition is doing beyond its letter to the governor, Magnarelli replied: “We have been actively lobbying our local, state and national representatives to support this cause. We are asking for a meeting with Gov. Hochul to express our concerns about how this policy could affect local businesses and consumers.”

Magnarelli also asked businesses within New York City’s five boroughs to sign the coalition’s open letter. “The more voices, the more powerful the message,” she noted. “Anyone else can help promote our letter, sharing their support for it on social media and calling upon Gov. Hochul to recognize food as an essential service.”

Family-owned Baldor is a distributor of premium fresh produce, specialty foods, dairy, meat and fish in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The company now services more than 14,000 foodservice, retail and corporate accounts from Portland, Maine, to Richmond, Va., and offers more than 7,000 food items.