PERRY COUNTY, Pa. — The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank announced it has received a $100,000 gift from the Partnership for Better Health to support its pantry programs in Perry County.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, nearly 15 percent of children in Perry County were food insecure, meaning they do not have reliable access to three healthy meals every day, the Food Bank said. Due to the economic consequences of the pandemic, that number is now at nearly 20 percent.
"The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank knows that when a child is hungry, the entire family is likely hungry as well," the organization said.
The Food Bank said it is addressing this serious issue through its Healthy Food For Families initiatives, transforming traditional BackPack Programs that only provide food for the individual child into school pantry programs which will feed the entire family.
The gift from the Partnership for Better Health will help achieve these goals in four school districts throughout Perry County, the Food Bank said.
“Families in Perry County are hungry and have difficulty accessing fresh and healthy food near their rural homes,” said Joe Arthur, Executive Director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. “Through this wonderful gift from the Partnership for Better Health, as well as our partnership with the Perry County Food Bank, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank will transform all current BackPack programs into school pantries with the capacity to carry meat, milk and produce for the entire family. This will provide Perry County residents with the food they need to be healthy.”
“The Partnership for Better Health applauds the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s commitment to ending hunger and for applying best practices and strategies that ensure that Perry County school students and their families have access to nutritious food," said Gail Witwer, director of Health Promotion for the Partnership for Better Health. "The transition from a pre-packaged BackPack program to a ‘shopper’s choice’ school-based pantry program enables school districts to address food insecurity in an empowering way."
The Healthy Food For Families initiative in Perry County kicked off over the holiday season with a food distribution for 100 families at the West Perry High School, the Food Bank said. The distribution was supported through the Partnership for Better Health grant and gave families all the fixings needed for a wonderful holiday meal.
To learn more about the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and its youth programs and initiatives, please visit www.centralpafoodbank.org or call 717-564-1700.
