Message from Mike Brubaker, Hunger-Free Lancaster County’s Chair:


Hunger haunts 1.8 million Pennsylvanians – a third of them children. It impacts every part of our state, hitting rural, suburban and urban communities without discrimination. … [Too many families] face the dread of having too little food in the fridge and too many days until the next paycheck.


Sen. Mike Brubaker and Lt. Governor Mike Stack

Hunger harms our children, hurts our seniors and stresses our families. It is a community problem with huge economic consequences – the costs of hunger are estimated to exceed $1 billion annually in Pennsylvania.

This is from a piece that my old friend, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, and I wrote for LancasterOnline about some successes in the fight against hunger, including those of Hunger-Free Lancaster County, our remarkable coalition of more than 30 local business, charity, faith-based, social service and media organizations that one year ago set out to do something audacious — ensuring sustainable access to three healthy meals a day for all Lancastrians by 2018.

Among the most notable accomplishments of Hunger-Free Lancaster County this year:

  • A remarkable 194,917 additional school breakfasts were served in Lancaster County in the 2015-16 school year for a total of 2,042,193, with many schools adopting effective alternative and kid-friendly strategies such “Breakfast After the Bell,” breakfast smoothies and “Grab and Go” kiosks;
  • The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank grew by 28% the amount of fresh produce, dairy and protein it distributed in Lancaster, a whopping 1,597,024 pounds of wholesome food; and
  • The Lutheran Camping Corporation of Central Pennsylvania established a 40-acre “Growing Project” at the Wittel Farm Retreat in Elizabethtown, dedicated to growing fresh vegetables to donate to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Lancaster County Council of Churches. Using all volunteer labor, the group hopes to harvest 13,400 pounds of produce, enough for 11,166 meals.

Hunger is a 100% solvable problem but we can’t do it alone. Please explore how you can “Get Involved” right here on our website and be sure to find us on social media to stay current on local and national news and events.

Signature_Brubaker

Mike

HFLC-Year-One-Highlights-2016

Read the Hunger-Free Lancaster County Highlights 2016 above or click here to download a copy.