Ed Weaver, a third-generation owner of Weaver’s Orchard in Robeson Township, often finds himself with crops that he doesn’t know what to do with.
It may be bushels of apples that he won’t be able to sell before they go bad, or perhaps a patch of strawberries too small to make harvesting them worth the cost of labor.
Jay Worrall, the president of Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank, is constantly trying to find ways to keep the shelves of the food bank stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. He searches for deals with grocery stores, he looks for people willing to donate goods.
And thanks to a state program, Weaver’s dilemma can be solved in a way that also solves Worrall’s problem.
The Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System program helps support the agricultural industry statewide, making connections between farmers and nonprofit organizations responsible for getting more nutritious food into the hands of people at risk of hunger.
In the most basic terms, it uses state funds to pay farmers to harvest, process and transport goods to local food banks.
And, on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and officials from Feeding Pennsylvania celebrated that decadelong partnership at Weaver’s Orchard.
“For 10 years, PASS has been a highly effective tool for bridging that gap between abundance and need — by multiplying the work our farmers and food banks do everyday to help feed our neighbors,” Redding said during the event.
Since 2016, Redding said PASS has increased food security and reduced food waste by providing $31.9 million to Feeding Pennsylvania’s network of food banks to buy 38.3 million pounds of nutritious surplus food from Pennsylvania farmers.
Ed Weaver, president of Weaver’s Orchard in Robeson Township, said he is thankful the farm can contribute to the needs of Helping Harvest through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System. (Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)
Weaver, who has participated in the program since it began, said his team at the farm is thankful they can contribute to the nutritional needs of the community through Helping Harvest.
“The PASS program has provided a valuable resource by funding the harvest, container and transportation costs for the surplus produce we have at times throughout the year,” he said. “It is rewarding to us as a family to know that we can bless others with some of our produce each season.”
Jay Worrall, president of the Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank, speaks during a press conference Tuesday at Weaver’s Orchard in Robeson Township about the benefits of a state program that helps connect farmers with a surplus to food banks. (Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)
Worrall, who also serves as chairman of Feeding Pennsylvania, said 10 years of the PASS program means 10 years of Pennsylvania farmers and food banks working together to make sure fresh, nutritious food reaches the people who need it most.
“For Helping Harvest, this program has been transformative, not just in the volume of food that has come through our doors, but because of the quality of that food,” he said. “Our neighbors facing food insecurity deserve the same wholesome, locally grown produce that ends up on dinner tables throughout the commonwealth, and PASS makes that possible.”
State Sen. Judy Schwank, a Wyomissing Democrat who serves as the Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, said the program is a worthy investment.
“We need to continue supporting PASS at the state level because supporting farmers and feeding our neighbors makes Pennsylvania a better place for all of us to live,” she said.