By Raye Lomini
Running a small food business on Long Island isn’t easy. Between rising food costs, fuel prices, insurance, and inflation that hits our customers just as hard as it hits us, food truck owners like me are already stretched thin. We work long hours, operate on razor-thin margins, and take pride in serving our communities with affordable, convenient meals.
That’s why I’m deeply concerned about the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act now being pushed in Albany. While the goal of reducing waste is one I share, this bill takes a one-size-fits-all approach that would unfairly burden small businesses — especially food trucks and mobile vendors — while driving up costs for everyday New Yorkers.
For food truck operators, packaging isn’t a luxury. It’s essential. Safe, affordable packaging keeps food fresh, prevents spills, and ensures we meet strict health and safety requirements. This legislation would impose sweeping new mandates and aggressive reduction targets that ignore the realities of how small food businesses operate.
Unlike large corporations, small operators don’t have compliance departments or the leverage to redesign packaging overnight. Any new costs imposed on manufacturers will inevitably be passed down the supply chain — to distributors, to small businesses like mine, and ultimately to customers. Estimates suggest this bill could raise household costs by hundreds of dollars a year, at a time when families are already struggling to keep up with the cost of living.
On Long Island, many of my customers rely on food trucks and small convenience businesses because they’re affordable, accessible, and close to home or work. If my costs go up, I don’t have many options. I can raise prices, which hurts customers, or cut back on offerings, hours, or staff. For some operators, the math simply won’t work, forcing them to shut down altogether.
Food trucks also face unique space and operational constraints that Albany lawmakers seem to overlook. We don’t have room to store multiple types of redesigned packaging, bulk containers, or alternative materials that may cost more and perform worse. If certain packaging is restricted or banned, it could mean entire menu items disappear – not because customers don’t want them, but because we can’t package them safely or affordably.
This bill would also reduce consumer choice. Many everyday, SNAP-eligible food items could come off the shelves or menus due to packaging restrictions, creating new barriers to food access — particularly for working-class and lower-income New Yorkers who depend on small, neighborhood-based food businesses.
What’s most frustrating is that this legislation was crafted with little input from the small businesses it would most affect. Environmental progress shouldn’t come at the expense of the very communities policymakers claim to protect. There are smarter ways to reduce waste — investing in recycling infrastructure, supporting advanced recycling technologies, and working collaboratively with businesses instead of imposing rigid mandates that ignore real-world conditions.
I want to be part of the solution. Most small business owners do. But solutions must be practical, equitable, and achievable. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act misses that mark.
I urge the New York State Legislature to slow down, listen to small business owners, and oppose this bill in its current form. Albany shouldn’t solve one problem by creating many more — especially for the hardworking entrepreneurs who keep Long Island’s local economy moving every day.
Raye Lomini is the owner of Raye’s Mobile Kitchen and Convenience in Long Island.