PARTNERS AGAINST HUNGER:

FOOD SECURITY AND PENNSYLVANIA'S SUCCESS STORIES

Getting the Scoop for Families That Work - It's the Telephone Man! (Public and Non-Profit) The Food Stamp Outreach and Enrollment Program is the first one of its type in Pennsylvania. The program run by Hunger Services Network, a private non-profit organization, in Allegheny County has a Food Stamp Information Line which screens people for tentative food stamp eligibility in about 15 minutes. If they are deemed eligible based on the information they give Coordinator Ron Twyman, he sends them the official food stamp application; a list of the documents they must take to apply; and where to go apply for this important nutritional safety net. The program retains a cooperative relationship with the Allegheny County Assistance Office (Department of Public Welfare) sharing information and providing feedback between the two organizations.

Picking Up on A Good Thing (Profit, Non-Profit and Public) The Impetus and support for the Chester County Gleaning Program stated with Commissioner Andrew E. Dinniman. Instead of wasting what remains in the fields after the farmers' picking, local groups have been mobilized to go into the fields and salvage what remains to feed the hungry. Several farmers and orchardists welcomed the gleaners to their fields and orchards. Groups from church and community were organized by the Chester County Community Service Council and an organizing board to direct the program. During the summer of 1997, more than 99,000 pounds of fresh produce was gleaned for distribution to people in need in their region.

An Old School Bus Finds a New Purpose in Life (Profit, Public, and Non-Profit) Distributing food out of the back of an old school bus sounds like something out of a movie. Originally a project of a local church, Food and Shelter Ministries has grown into a program that serves close to 1000 low income folks every month. Receiving donations from area businesses and the food bank and utilizing food from the state and federal food sources, this program has grown in its distribution. Food is packed into bags on the back of the bus, and it travels to each of several distribution sites where the recipients have already registered, waiting in line for the bus that will fill their bellies.

Managing Food Donations - A Well Thought-Out Fishing Expedition (Private, Public and Non-Profit) Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwestern PA Director Sue Cascio appreciated the weekly tote of broken fish pieces she received from the Van De Kamp's food processing plant in Erie. The pieces were all together in one big thousand pound box. Each time the food bank would receive the fish, re-packing volunteers would have to chip away at the sometime frozen together pieces of fish to ready them for a distribution. Director Cascio thought of a better plan. Instead of picking up weekly, she could put a reefer trailer in the parking lot and have Van De Kamp's inexpensively repack the fish tote by tote into small family-sized bags. State tax credits, private grant monies, and funds from PA's Emergency Food Assistance Development Program made this project a "go" with the big processor and a winner for people in need in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Finding and Funding Those After School Munchies (Public and Non-Profit) Most any parent knows that when school's out the kids are ravenously hungry. Kids that attend after school programs are no different. The federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program provides monies to sponsors of programs offering snacks to children after school. In a five county area including Philadelphia, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia has grounded itself as a sponsor of this important program distributing to a variety of community and school sites within some of the regions' poorest communities. Reimbursement comes from the federal government, similar to the School Lunch program, based on the level of need for the children being served. This important program provides a nutritionally sound snack to children whose family's cupboards are bare.

Fresh From the Farm - Seniors Go Shopping (Public, Private and Non-Profit) Good nutrition for low income seniors is a concern for many who care about the elderly in their communities. Last year a new program, the Farmer's Market Nutrition Program for Seniors, began in Delaware and Mercer counties with monies for fresh produce left over from the WIC program. Coupons unused by WIC participants were made available to low income seniors through the public and non-profits sectors. Farmers cooperated by bringing their goods to local market stands with an incentive of more customers for their locally grown produce. Public participants included the PA Department of Agriculture and the Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging. Hopefully this program will be expanded in the coming year.

Making Lemons into Lemonade (Public, Private and Non-Profit) A pitcher of lemonade goes a lot further than one lemon all by itself. Add some sugar, water and ice and you have lemonade, enticing folks of all ages to partake. This is the concept of Value Added Processing (VAP) - taking one product and adding some ingredients or processing that makes it even more valuable. Furman Foods, a canner of tomato and vegetable products wanted to do something to positively affect their community. They decided to donate the use of their plant for one day to a project that would bring many corporate partners and the state of Pennsylvania into a partnership, resulting in seven tractor trailerloads of pork 'n beans for people in need in Pennsylvania. Furman employees donated their time to can beans with supplies donated from over 20 corporate donors. Pennsylvania came through with tax credits or Emergency Food Assistance Development monies to cover the incidental expenses not covered in the donation. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank was the non-profit organizer of the effort.

Food Security - Expanding the Number at the Table (Public, Private and Non-Profit) Talking about food security is normally done within organizations that deal with getting food to people. The farmers talk about getting their products to buyers. The processors talk about marketing their goods to the public. Food banks and food pantries talk about meeting the increasing needs of their clients. People in the public sector talk about the administration of their food-related programs. All of these people deal with food at some level. Seldom do these people talk together at one table. If they did, maybe there would be fewer Pennsylvanians at empty tables. Just Community Food Systems of South Central Pennsylvania attempted to do just that - bring more food system people together on a regular basis so that fewer people are in need. They encourage community supported agriculture and are developing an Earth Literacy Center. The Center will provide opportunities for youth to learn about food production, academic, physical education and recreation. Foods grown at the Center will be part of school meals. Just Community Food Systems seeks partners from the whole food community for a variety of projects which impact food security.

Sue Mitchem, PA Hunger Action Center, 5/25/00