The Spark

Food insecurity is an issue in Central Pennsylvania


Listen Later

September is Hunger Action Awareness month and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is sounding the alarm.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed there was a hunger crisis in the region, but now with inflation, the hunger crisis continues, said Central Pennsylvania Food Bank Executive Director Joe Arthur.

"We want people to know that the crisis is not done, that the hunger crisis is very much real and at a high level," Arthur said.

Now, much of the support the food bank received in the past few years has gone away.

"Here in 2022, a lot of that support is is tapered down," Arthur said. "So, now we've got the issue of less of those additional kind of emergency resources coming to households. But costs are higher for them."

While unemployment is low, that does not mean people's incomes are higher, Arthur explained.

"We just see a lot of people that were kind of on the edge and now all of a sudden can't quite make the food bill because the gas bill so much higher. Their utilities are higher, their rent is higher," Arthur said. "What we're seeing in our communities is really just this steady increase in the amount of people that are reaching out for help to our partner organizations and them leaning on us harder for more healthy food."

The Food Bank relies on a network of suppliers to stay fully stocked, but there have been supply chain issues.

"Our grocers are wonderful. Our food producers are wonderful, but they're pretty stretched to try to meet demand right now," Arthur said. "And they're facing supply line challenges as well. We're buying more food and unfortunately we have the same challenge of other businesses. Those costs for food are going up, as [are] fuel costs. So, we are managing it."

The best way to help, Arthur said, is to volunteer or contribute financially. To do so, visit www.centralpafoodbank.org

 

 

 

 

 

Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The SparkBy WITF, Inc.

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

29 ratings


More shows like The Spark

View all
PBS Washington Week with The Atlantic - Full Show by Washington Week

PBS Washington Week with The Atlantic - Full Show

1,342 Listeners

Marketplace by Marketplace

Marketplace

8,635 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,151 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,856 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

86,520 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,441 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,027 Listeners

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast by NerdWallet Personal Finance

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

746 Listeners

Today, Explained by Vox

Today, Explained

10,107 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,216 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,456 Listeners

History Daily by Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History Daily

2,016 Listeners

The 7 by The Washington Post

The 7

1,166 Listeners

The Morning Agenda by WITF, Inc.

The Morning Agenda

24 Listeners

Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

Good Hang with Amy Poehler

7,038 Listeners