{"id":211836,"date":"2026-06-05T19:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211836\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:49:18","slug":"second-harvest-food-bank-and-grow-erie-launch-partnership-to-deliver-fresh-locally-grown-produce-to-nwpa-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211836\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Harvest Food Bank and Grow Erie launch partnership to deliver fresh, locally grown produce to NWPA communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Horton\"<\/a>Minority Community Investment Coalition President Gary Horton at the podium at Grow Erie, Jun. 5, 2026. Photo by Joel Natalie, TalkErie.com.<\/p>\n

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania and Grow Erie are proud to announce a new partnership that brings fresh, locally grown produce directly from Erie\u2019s urban agriculture system to local families experiencing food insecurity.<\/p>\n

This collaboration marks a step forward in strengthening the local food systems while expanding access to nutritious, Erie-grown produce. Currently, two varieties of lettuce, buttercrunch and red oakleaf, are grown at Grow Erie, which will be distributed through Second Harvest\u2019s Marketplace and mobile distributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership represents innovation in both food banking and urban agriculture,\u201d said Gregory D. Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania. \u201cBy working with Grow Erie we are not only making our neighbors healthier but also making our local communities healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grow Erie uses advanced hydroponic growing methods that produce leafy greens, herbs and microgreens, year-round in a controlled environment. Plants are grown without soil using carefully managed water and nutrient systems, resulting in fresh, high-quality produce while using significantly less water than traditional field agriculture, with increased yields. Freshly harvested lettuce will move from greenhouse to distribution quickly, providing nutritious produce for families served across northwest Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

MCIC President, Gary Horton, commented, \u201cThis partnership is the first major step in carrying out our vision of building a healthier community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, the effort reflects a shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and community impact, bringing together food banking and urban agriculture to address food insecurity in new ways. Beyond supporting our neighbors in need, it also strengthens Erie\u2019s urban agricultural economy. Every head of lettuce grown here supports local jobs, strengthens our food system, and keeps resources in our community.<\/p>\n

This partnership marks the beginning of an ongoing relationship between Second Harvest and Grow Erie, with plans to continue providing fresh produce throughout the growing year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about more than deliveries of produce,\u201d added Gregory D. Hall. \u201cIt\u2019s about building a stronger, more connected community for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minority Community Investment Coalition President Gary Horton at the podium at Grow Erie, Jun. 5, 2026. Photo by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":["post-211836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}