on September 24, 2017
Year Two Highlights | September 2017
Hunger-Free Lancaster County, comprised of more than 30 local and regional organizations, is committed to one mission: building a hunger-free Lancaster County by creating a nutritious, accessible, and sustainable food system. Our goal, established in 2015, is to ensure that every Lancastrian has access to three healthy meals a day by 2018.
Today, our coalition is eager to share highlights from our second extraordinary year.
Some notable accomplishments from this year:
- A record 20% of the food distributed by Lancaster’s food pantries consisted of fruits and vegetables – 1.3 million pounds! Families in need throughout the county are happily substituting tasty and nutritious produce for less healthy, non-perishable food items.
- Now in its second year, The Wittel Farm Growing Project in Elizabethtown is an all-volunteer farm growing healthy produce for local food banks and pantries. So far In 2017, the Wittel Farm has added more than 7,700 pounds of healthy vegetables and 500 pounds of venison into the charitable food network with the helping hands of more than 250 volunteers.
- With the slogan #BreakfastMakesSchoolBetter and help from many, including Governor Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf, many more Lancaster schools are offering “Breakfast After the Bell.” The County has seen an increase in the number of summer meals and after school meals for Lancaster’s children, as well.
- Lancaster City’s two free weekend community meals are back on track, now hosted by the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) and the Salvation Army, Lancaster Corps. Other meals are available throughout the week and the County; the United Way of Lancaster County’s Pennsylvania 2-1- 1 has an up to date listing of them for anyone in need.
Mike Brubaker, HFLC Chair, says that one of the group’s most significant accomplishments this year was the increase in and heightened attention to providing fresh produce and protein-rich meals:
Sept-2017-Year-Two-HighlightsWe worked really hard this year to overcome the challenges of perishability, access, and seasonality. True food security means so much more than just a full stomach. Healthy families build healthy communities and healthier food sharing also means busier Lancaster farms and less food waste.
Read Hunger-Free Lancaster County’s Highlights from 2017 above or click here to download.