Filling the Cupboards

It Will Take Our Coming Together

As a follow-on to our previous news blog article, “The Cupboards Are Bare?”, there needs to be more interim community support to address the increasing food insecurity issue in Pennsylvania.  There has been a 40% rise in food insecurity in Pennsylvania over the past two years; and it is about to be made worse by the state and federal budget impasses.

The announcement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s impending shutdown of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on November 1 is not good news. Just over one in ten Americans depend upon this program, surprisingly.

And although not widely reported, Pennsylvania government has added the problem by abruptly ceasing a main source of produce, especially protein products, to those nonprofits who feed the hungry, such as our Second Harvest of the Lehigh Valley, the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) program.

Meanwhile, the Military Share program hobbles on (see below) helping as it best can, more strained than ever by these circumstances – and in its case an over-reliance on Pennsylvania government’s dwindling Veterans Trust Fund.  Like VALOR Clinic, Battle Borne has used its own funds to help those seriously in need of food programs to make ends meet.

Talk among yourselves about setting these programs to rights, the proper way – and now.  Consider helping out with donations, to include in-kind donations and volunteer labor, in the short term. Remember that there is nothing wrong in educating your legislators over your concern over this issue, as LVMAC is trying to do in its small way, for ultimately government action is required for such a large need. There is good will among them. It is a matter of finding the leaders, the doers, the influencers, among these, however.  Help in a civil way wherever you can.

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RJH
As of 27 October 2025