Broome County Council of Churches to use federal funding to build food market

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Broome County Council of Churches will use $150,000 in federal funding for construction of a food market on the north side of Binghamton.

It’s a “community that has been designated as a food desert,” the office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) said.

The Broome County money is part of nearly $300,000 awarded through the Appalachian Regional Commission, Gillibrand and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced last week.

The school district serving the town of Friendship in Allegany County will use the remaining funding for its STEM and skilled-trade programming. STEM is short for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic-development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian region.