Gregory D. Hall, the new CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania, said he’s optimistic about the job of feeding people in the organization’s 11-county footprint.
But starting with food prices, there are some challenges.
Between 2020 and 2024, grocery costs increased by 23.6%, according to a report by the Economic Research Service.
“What’s challenging is that demand for food seems unprecedented,” Hall said. “Over the last two years we have seen a 43% increase in the number of individuals served and 40% in the number of households served.”
In the face of rising prices and growing demand, Second Harvest, like food banks across the nation, is facing a decline in federal funding that’s been provided by an alphabet-soup of programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Gregory Hall is the CEO of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania.
Set to expire at the end of June is funding through Local Food Purchase Assistance, often call LFPA, which provides money for food banks to purchase fresh food from Pennsylvania farmers.
The program, which Second Harvest had hoped to see become permanent as part of the Farm Bill, allowed the Erie-based food bank to provide about 1.5 million meals a year and represented about 30% of Second Harvest’s purchased food budget.
“It allowed us to purchase fresh, nutritious food — things like milk, eggs and fresh agricultural products — from Pennsylvania farmers,” Hall said. “It allowed us to get a lot of truly nutritious foods that we would have had trouble purchasing.”
The program buys food from Pennsylvania farmers
The program had another advantage. It supports local farmers.
Roger Schultz, one of the owners of John Schultz & Sons farm in North East, a fruit farm now in its sixth generation, has been supplying fresh fruit to Second Harvest for years.
He’s donated some and sold fruit to the organization through a variety of government-supported programs, most recently through LFPA.
Schultz, who grows 220 acres of grapes, apples, peaches and pears, said Second Harvest has accounted for about 15% of his 30-acre apple crop.
Schultz said the program has been good for local farmers while providing much-needed nutrients.
“This allows us not to leave food in the field and it helps us to recoup expenses. We all hate waste,” he said.
Schultz is familiar with the reason this particular program was cut as part of an effort by the federal government to cut spending.
But he’s not applauding the move, citing concerns about both the loss of nutritious food and the affect cutting the $500 million program has on the sustainability of local agriculture.
Sixth-generation farmer Roger Schultz has been selling apples to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania.
“I think it’s a brain-dead move,” he said. “I don’t think there has been any thought put into it. Look at the cost-benefit analysis.”
The program not only provides nutritious food to people in need, but also holds shipping costs to a minimum.
“Once that ability to produce food is gone, it’s gone,” he said.
Sixth-generation farmer Roger Schultz walks near apple trees planted on his farm in North East. The farm sells about 15% of its apple crop to Second Harvest Food Bank and also supplies local school districts.
Other programs could be in question
Federal funding also has been cut for the The Emergency Food Assistance Program, known as TEFAP.
The program, which provides foods such as milk, dried plums, chicken and turkey, last year provided Second Harvest with 310,000 pounds of food, or the equivalent of 260,000 meals.
“We had 16 trucks cancel on us,” Hall said.
A volunteer shows a vegetable box as part of a Military Share food distribution at the Second Harvest Food Bank in Erie in May of 2023.
In a recent letter to the editor, Hall urged Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senators, David McCormick and John Fetterman, to ensure that no bills under consideration include reductions to food assistance programs.
“TEFAP is a win-win,” he wrote. “It helps American farmers and puts nutritious food on the tables of hardworking families experiencing tough times.”
Uncertainty surrounds the future of other potential sources of income for Second Harvest, which supports 384 member food pantries.
Hall said there also have been cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides nutrition assistance to senior citizens.
“We are seeing a 3.5% to 4% reduction,” Hall said. “The allocation is down. The demand is not.”
Hall said he’s hopeful that funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA won’t be affected by possible changes to the organization.
“At this point, it’s unclear what happens with those dollars,” he said.
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Hall said he remains hopeful in the face of challenges.
Hall said he takes seriously concerns about lost funding.
“The (food) lines are longer and people are lining up sooner,” he said.
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“There is no doubt these are challenging times, but I do remain optimistic,” he said.
“We are going to work closely to find inventive and creative ways to supply the food that feeds our neighbors that are in need,” Hall said. “Knowing this community I feel confident.”
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie-based Second Harvest Food Bank sees budget shrink