A second round of emergency food assistance funding is now available to food banks, shelters and soup kitchens, state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding announced Tuesday, and qualified organizations are encouraged to apply.
The $2.5 million in funding is made available through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency grants.
“No one should go hungry in a state with the wealth and bounty we have in Pennsylvania,” Redding said in a press release “Expanding the capacity of local organizations to supply fresh, healthy food to families in need is just one part of a broad Shapiro Administration strategy to work toward a healthier, more food-secure Pennsylvania.”
During the first round of TEFAP Reach and Resiliency grants in September, more than $1.6 million was awarded to 39 food banks, pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens across the state.
Food banks in Pennsylvania have seen an increase in demand after a pandemic-era emergency program phased out earlier this year.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cited a specific food bank in western Pennsylvania that was feeding more than 10,000 people last month, after it was feeding just 3,500 people in March.
The grants are awarded to organizations through TEFAP contracts with the state, county, or a county-designated lead agency. Some of the funded projects include expanded cold storage, warehouse space and equipment, delivery vehicles for food distribution, and other investments aimed at expanding the program’s reach into rural, low-income and other underserved communities, according to the Shapiro administration’s news release.
Full grant guidelines, which were published in the PA Bulletin on Oct.14, can be found here. Applications online through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Single Electronic Application must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec.8.
Those interested in looking for additional information on foodbanks, pantries and more on food insecurity can visit agriculture.pa.gov/foodsecurity.
