PA Awards $10 Million For Fresh Food In Low Income Communities

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania has awarded $10 million to organizations and businesses statewide to help low income communities impacted bycoronavirus-related shortages improve their access to fresh food.

The funding was disbursed to more than 100 projects around the state, addressing three key food security points: availability, affordability, and safety.

“The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the challenges that many Pennsylvanians face in accessing fresh, local food,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis Davin said in a statement. “The Fresh Food Financing Initiative was developed to ensure that no one in our commonwealth will struggle to fill their pantry and the food supply chain will remain stable, whether during a crisis, emergency, or during times of normalcy.”

The new project was financed through the federal CARES Act.

Specifically, it aims to provide assistance to numerous entities in low-income areas, like corner stores, convenience stores, neighborhood markets, bodegas, food hubs, mobile markets, farmers markets, urban farms, and more. Funded establishments make at least 70 percent of stales from "staple, perishable" foods, officials said.

Money will be used to help manage coronavirus safety measures like cleaning and enforcing social distancing, other infrastructure improvements neccessary in the wake of the pandemic, equipment purchases like refrigerators to help manage the storage of fresh food, protective equipment for employees, and providing expanded access to produce or dairy from Pennsylvania farmers.

To receive funding, applicants had to demonstrate that their low-income community had limited food access due to coronavirus-related issues. That included lost or disrupted supply chains, temporarily or permanently closed stores, unsustainably increased demand for certain items, and more.

All told, 115 projects in 39 different counties received funding. For a full list of awarded projects, see here.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.