Saturday, one of the largest food drives in the country – Scouting America’s Scouting for Food – gathered 55,500 lbs. of food for area families experiencing food insecurity, which was brought in to Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank.
The food was received and sorted by Helping Harvest volunteers and staff, and it will be stored at the Helping Harvest warehouse ahead of being distributed via Helping Harvest’s network of agency partners throughout Berks & Schuylkill counties.
“We are heading into the holiday season where so many family celebrations are typically centered around food. Now, with the unclear future of programs that support families in need due to the government shutdown, we know that more neighbors than ever are, and will be, turning to us and the charitable food system for help,” said Jay Worrall, president of Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank. “While we always appreciate the donations that come to us via food drives, this year’s Scouting for Food drive carries extra weight due to the challenges being faced by so many of our neighbors.”
Helping Harvest, the leading provider of food to families in Berks County, has provided services to the county for 42 years. Last year, Helping Harvest supplied $15.2 million (7.8 million lbs.) of nutritious food to Berks County charitable food programs. The Senior Food Box Program distributed almost 584k lbs. of food to lower-income seniors at 63 sites in Berks County. The Weekender Program, which provides a bag of easy-to-prepare meals and snacks for students experiencing food insecurity to eat over the weekend, distributed over 83K bags at 60 sites in Berks County.
Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank is the leading provider of food to neighbors in need in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, PA. Helping Harvest delivers food to over 350 partners in its service area. In 2024, Helping Harvest distributed over $20 million in food to neighbors in need. Helping Harvest is a Partner Food Bank of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.
