BETHLEHEM, Pa. (WETM) — A food pantry in Bradford County was awarded $50,000 as part of a new grant program in Pennsylvania to combat food insecurities in the state.
Child Hunger Outreach Partners in Towanda will receive $50,000 as part of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency grant.
The $1.6 million program gave funding to 40 different food pantries, shelters, food banks, and soup kitchens in 26 different counties in Pennsylvania with more grant funding coming soon.
Some of the projects the various food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks will do with this funding include expanding cold storage, warehouse space and equipment, delivery vehicles for food distribution along other investments.
The grants were highlighted by Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding in Bethlehem on Tuesday to recognize Hunger Action Month and show the importance of tackling hunger and food insecurity in the state.
“No one should go hungry in a state with the wealth and bounty we have in Pennsylvania,” Secretary Redding said. “But far too often families do not know where their next meal is coming from and they need our help,” he said.
On top of the grant funding, $46.5 million of the 2023-24 budget will go towards helping 1.7 million public school children in Pennsylvania receive free breakfast from their schools through the National School Lunch Program.
The next round of TEFAP grant funding will be more than $2.5 million announced in October.
