LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. – Volunteers were packing hundreds of boxes of donated food at Second Harvest Food Bank.
Now, the food bank has nearly $700,000 to immediately buy more. This is the result of a critical support fund launched by The United Way and Lehigh Valley Community Foundation.
In 2 weeks, 80 business raised over $650,000.
“I am completely amazed, stunned,” said CEO of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley Marci Lesko.
She adds it more than doubled expectations.
“If you guys didn’t have this, where would that leave people?” 69 News reporter Bo Koltnow asked Lesko.
“A lot of really desperate folks,” she said.
The food bank’s need has doubled in the past 5 years; it now serves 124,000 people in 6 counties. Dawn Godshall Executive Director of Community Action Lehigh Valley, the non-profit that runs Second Harvest, says, recent frozen SNAP benefits increased the need.
“They were borrowing from their utility money and their rent money, and those come with fees and penalties, so they’re going to have to catch up at some point,” she said of peoples struggles.
From funds to fruit, farms like Scholl Orchards are helping to fill the need. It’s recent buy a bushel feed a family program, where a $40 bushel bought for $25 heads right to the food bank, has already resulted in hundreds of pounds of apples to Second Harvest.
“With benefits being frozen and, you know, the food insecurity and the shortage on food, a really good apple crop this year. So, we just really wanted to help and give back to the community,” said Martha Scholl.
Battling hunger, for many, is a fight worth picking.