READING — Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank is working to ensure Berks and Schuylkill County households have food on the table for Thanksgiving.
Amid rising levels of food insecurity, largely due to the recent federal government shutdown and uncertainty around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nonprofit has prepared nearly 15,000 Thanksgiving heat-and-eat meals at its new Helping Harvest Community Kitchen in downtown Reading.
This is the first year that the food bank prepared this type of meal on this scale, officials said, and the meals will largely be distributed to area senior citizens.
“We wanted to create a meal that is delicious, nutritious and visually appealing,” said Melanie Galarza, director of culinary operations at the Community Kitchen.
“Our hope is that we created something that neighbors are excited to eat,” she said. “For those who are not able to cook a meal themselves, we still want them to have that comforting holiday experience.”
Volunteers pack Thanksgiving boxes at the Helping Harvest warehouse. (SUBMITTED)
Jay Worrall, Helping Harvest president, said a heat-and-eat meal is more convenient and nutritionally appropriate for some people, particularly seniors.
Heat-and-eat meals feature smoked turkey with gravy, sweet potato mash, green beans and cranberry sauce.
“There are also a lot of families experiencing food insecurity that still want to be able to cook their own holiday meal,” Worrall said, “and we’re happy to be able to provide Thanksgiving boxes and turkeys or turkey breasts to them.”
For about a month, Helping Harvest staff and volunteers have prepared 4,752 pantry boxes at its warehouse in Spring Twp. The boxes contain products that are typically found in Thanksgiving recipes or on holiday tables.
Additionally, Helping Harvest is distributing 3,632 whole turkeys and 2,252 turkey breasts.
Helping Harvest’s Thanksgiving efforts would be impossible without the support of volunteers, officials said.
In the Community Kitchen, volunteers spent hours breaking down turkeys, chopping vegetables, peeling sweet potatoes and packaging meals. In the warehouse, volunteers were instrumental in packing the Thanksgiving boxes. Volunteers are also a critical component of the distribution process.
The Thanksgiving heat-and-eat meals, pantry boxes and turkeys are being distributed in time for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving meals are packaged by volunteers in the Community Kitchen. (SUBMITTED)
Distribution is being facilitated by Helping Harvest’s network of 350 partner agencies, including food pantries and mobile markets.
Donors to Helping Harvest’s Thanksgiving initiative include Koch’s Turkey Farm, The Giant Company, C&S Wholesale Grocers and Wegman’s.
Other donors include The Westy Bar & Grill, Russo’s Gourmet Foods & Market and Restaurant Depot. Food drives and individual food donations also brought in whole turkeys and many pantry staples.
Helping Harvest recently received 55,000 pounds of food from Scouting America’s Scouting for Food program, one of the largest food drives in the country.
“While we always appreciate the donations that come to us from food drives,” Worrall said, “this year’s Scouting for Food drive carries extra weight due to the challenges being faced by many families.”
The leading provider of food in Berks and Schuylkill counties, Helping Harvest distributed over $20 million of food in 2024. It partners with Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization.