With the need for food in Schuylkill County at historic levels, and with that high demand expected to continue, Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank is asking the community to take action.

September is Hunger Action Month nationwide, and a perfect time for the public to help fight local food insecurity, Helping Harvest officials said.

The nonprofit is the leading provider of food to people in need in Berks and Schuylkill counties, delivering food to over 350 partner organizations in its service area, and distributing more than $22 million worth of food in fiscal year 2025-2026.

One in seven residents in the two-county service area faces food insecurity, including nearly 25,000 children, said Helping Harvest President Jay Worrall.

This calendar year, the organization is on pace to give out approximately 14 million pounds of food across both counties, up from 10.9 million pounds in 2025, which had been its record.

Still, local food distribution events regularly run out of groceries with numerous people still in line, meaning Helping Harvest is unable to keep up with the unprecedented demand, Worrall said.

“If we had 20 million pounds of food this year, we could distribute all of it,” he said. “People really are in need right now.”

Therefore, Helping Harvest is seeking more monetary gifts, food donations and volunteers, hoping community members will want to help their neighbors to stay fed.

The consequences of food insecurity are evident in area hospitals and medical offices, according to Kris Danilovitz, registered dietitian lead at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center.

In the last year or so, Geisinger’s hospitals have seen a rise in patients suffering from malnutrition, including those who say that they can’t afford food, Danilovitz said.

“It’s a big issue,” she said.

Geisinger screens every patient for malnutrition, asking them questions such as if they’ve experienced unintentional weight loss, and refers those in need of food assistance to community agencies.

She encouraged those who cannot afford to eat properly to speak with their care providers for help.

Part of the reason for the increased food insecurity is the spike in grocery costs, and also the rising costs of other essentials, such as gas, rent, medicine and home heating.

“People are having to decide whether to buy food or gas,” Worrall said.

Recent cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have also forced families who had narrowly been getting by to now seek assistance from Helping Harvest, and many existing Helping Harvest clients are in need of more help than they previously sought, he said.

Steep cuts to federal programs that supply fresh food, meat and produce to emergency food networks have also made it tougher for organizations like Helping Harvest to help people.

People in Schuylkill and Berks seem to be aware of those issues, though, and have continued to donate generously, he said.

“Hunger in our community is real, and it’s growing, but so is our resolve to meet it,” Worrall said. “Hunger is a solvable problem, and together we can solve it.”

Among the ways to get involved locally are:

Helping Harvest currently serves 114 food distribution partners in Schuylkill County.

With its resources limited, it has prioritized feeding children, and therefore has launched pantries in the following schools: Pottsville Middle School, Pottsville High School, Minersville High School, Schuylkill Haven Middle School, Tamaqua Middle School and McAdoo Kelayres Elementary School.

It is also providing food through its Weekender Program at 23 elementary and preschools in Schuylkill.

Schuylkill mobile markets are held in Orwigsburg, Auburn, Girardville, Pine Grove, Minersville, Pottsville, Shenandoah, Tamaqua and Valley View.

Helping Harvest is a partner food bank of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.

It is also a member of Feeding Pennsylvania, which has nine partner food banks serving all 67 counties across the state. Those Pennsylvania food banks distribute more than 237 million pounds of food each year through a network of nearly 3,000 local pantries and partners.