25 Years of Leadership to End Hunger
 In
2003 Hunger Action will mark its 25th anniversary.
This article, the third in a six-part series, tells the story
of the part played by the Coalition on Food and Nutrition (later
renamed Hunger Action) in starting the State Food Purchase Program.
Launching
the State Food Purchase Program
The early ’80s were
hard times in Pennsylvania. Factories and steel mills were closing,
publicly-funded programs were being cut, unemployment was high.
Hunger was increasing. Many people of faith stepped forward to
provide charity aid but found their efforts fell far short of
need. Speaking in early 1983, Anne Ayella, administrator of food
distribution centers for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, voiced
the despair: “My office is strained to the limits and I just don’t
see where more food is going to come from.”
The times demanded
a broader response from the Commonwealth. Mike Spencer, President
of the Coalition and director of the Westmoreland Food Bank, and
Coalition director Jim Stephenson approached legislative leaders
for help. They asked for a $50 million annual allocation for
the purchase, transport, storage and distribution of Pennsylvania
agriculture products to the poor.
In 1983 the House
Appropriations Committee received testimony on the Coalition’s
request. Ayella set the stage by testifying on the burgeoning
need for food relief.
Just as is the case
now, the Commonwealth then was in financial difficulty. Nevertheless,
the General Assembly made food assistance a top priority. Led
by Rep. Jim Manderino (Westmoreland County), the Assembly added
a $8 million appropriation to the Department of Agriculture (PDA)
for food assistance. Effective July 1983, the State Food Purchase
Program began.
Initially championed
by the Democrats, through the ‘80s the Program gradually was embraced
by both parties. Jim Stephenson reminisces, “The trick over time
was to make people realize that it was a bipartisan priority.
With a lot of work we succeeded in doing that. Certainly Senator
John Shumaker was one of the leaders in that regard.”
As the economy improved
later in the ‘80s, some in the legislature, including Rep. Manderino,
wondered if the Program was still necessary. Stephenson credits
Mike Spencer with changing the minds of legislators who thought
the Program’s time had passed and Mike Hershock, Budget Director,
for persuading the Casey Administration.
In spite of all
of this work, it was an annual struggle to secure support. Funding
needed to be placed on a firmer footing. To accomplish this, in
1990 the Coalition and the Pennsylvania Association of Regional
Food Banks (PARF) launched a public campaign to write the State
Food Purchase Program into Pennsylvania law. Food bankers took
the lead in contacting legislators and organizing constituents.
On April 16, 1991
Rep. Italo Cappbianca and 32 other co-sponsors from both parties
introduced H.B. 1146. The PA Association of County Commissioners,
the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, the Community Action Association
of Pennsylvania, and the Lutheran Coalition on Public Policy joined
the advocacy efforts. The Casey Administration voiced its support.
Representatives Allen Kukovich and Ken Cole led the effort in
the House; Senator John Shumaker led the effort in the Senate.
Bumper stickers, press events, and Harrisburg “lobby days” helped
mobilize the public.
Predictably, legislative
wrangling ensued. Who should be eligible? How should eligibility
be documented? What entity should actually distribute the food?
Eventually each of these questions was answered. Eligibility
would follow the federal TEFAP program: 150 percent of poverty.
Eligibility would be documented by self-declaration. The private
pantry system would distribute the food.
Bill Reinke, Executive
Director of the Coalition, coordinated the advocacy efforts.
Speaking at an April 1991 press conference, Reinke described what
was at stake: “This Program provides emergency food to over 2.5
million people. It is a very cost effective. It is a major weapon
in Pennsylvania’s battle against hunger and deserves to be made
a permanent part of our anti-hunger arsenal.”
In the end, making
sure needy Pennsylvanians had enough to eat became a cause with
which nearly everyone agreed. H.B. 1146 became law with bipartisan
support in November 1991.
According to Janet
Ney, past president of PARF and currently with of the Community
Action Commission of the Lehigh Valley, “The emphasis has always
been on providing nutritious foods and Pennsylvania product. With
the help of this Program, the charitable sector could provide
a balanced food package rather than just what happened to be on
the shelf at the time.”
Tim Whelan, who
was part of the lobbying effort as director of the South Central
PA Food Bank and currently serves with the United Way of the Capitol
Region, agreed. “The Program made so much sense and brought so
much benefit to needy Pennsylvanians. It was an easy sell.”
Part
Four: “The Coalition and the Food Banks”
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