Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited Helping Harvest in Spring Township Friday morning on the final day of the Shapiro Administration’s 2024 Urban Agriculture Tour. More than a dozen volunteers packed food boxes for Pennsylvanians in need as part of America250PA’s Pennsylvania Day celebration.
“These are amazing places that touch the community in so many ways. They’re full of food here in the warehouse, but the reality is this is about people. The people who volunteer and folks who expect a box of goods from Helping Harvest,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.
“Im always humbled because we always talk about the productivity of agriculture, we’re proud of it, but at the end of the day we also have folks around us that are food insecure. It’s a reminder that for most of us we can go to the store and get what we want, but there’s also folks in the neighborhood who are counting on Helping Harvest and the food bank structure for their daily needs.”
For the first time at Helping Harvest, volunteers are packing Maternal Health Boxes, designed to provide nutritious food to food insecure pregnant mothers. The program is designed to direct as much food as possible towards children during their brain development years.
“Here in Pennsylvania we live in a bread basket for America, and there should be enough food for everybody in Pennsylvania to feel healthy and fed. Secretary Redding understands this probably better than almost anybody else and is trying to make connections between the food industry, food banks and food insecure people to make sure that we can meet those needs” said Helping Harvest President Jay Worrall.
“He’s been instrumental in launching the PASS program, which is a stand for Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System, where the state provides money to the food banks that we can use to purchase Pennsylvania manufactured grown products and provide them to low income people in our communities. It’s key our success, it’s innovative, it’s one of the best programs in the country.”
This is the second year Emilee Koch has volunteered on the packaging line as part of America250PA’s Pennsylvania Day. A rising Junior at Wilson School District and Miss Philadelphia’s Teen 2024, Koch expressed her commitment to community service and environmental advocacy.
“I love being able to give back to my community. I’ve done many projects with Helping Harvest. I was part of the Hunger Fighters at Wilson and it’s a cause near and dear to my heart. With my title as Miss Philadelphia Teen, I’ve been able to advocate for pollinator protection. What a lot of people don’t understand is that one out of every three bites of food comes from a pollinator, so it’s great to give back and showcase that message here today at Helping Harvest” she said.
Stops during the weeklong Urban Agriculture Tour across the state have introduced dynamic Pennsylvanians who are working to increase access to fresh, healthy food in areas where it is scarce; break down racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic barriers; and overcome historical inequities to grow opportunities for their urban neighborhoods to thrive.
Lt. Governor Austin A. Davis joined the tour in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to announce the opening of PA Farm Bill Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grants, which will provide $500,000 in grants for projects that will increase capacity to produce fresh food and create economic opportunity in urban Pennsylvania neighborhoods.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited four urban farms in Reading Wednesday. The tour featured stops at RealFarm Real Food, City of Reading Pollinator Garden, 18th Wonder Improvement Project, and Bog Turtle Creek Farm. Each location showcased community-driven agricultural initiatives, including John Miller Jr.’s permaculture garden, pollinator gardens supporting biodiversity, and Genevieve Weikel’s work at Bog Turtle Creek Farm supplying produce to local markets. Redding praised the collaboration between public, private, and community entities and emphasized the importance of urban agriculture in meeting basic needs and fostering larger community improvements.