Main Line Food Bank Gets $17K State Grant

NARBERTH, PA — Pennsylvania officials announced a sizable contribution to food banks, pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens across the state Tuesday, and the Narberth Community Food Bank is among the recipients of funding.

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced awards of more than $1.6 million to 40 organizations and more through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency Grants.

The Narberth Community Food Bank was awarded $17,012.

The grant awards recognize Hunger Action Month.

"No one should go hungry in a state with the wealth and bounty we have in Pennsylvania," Redding said. "But far too often families do not know where their next meal is coming from and they need our help. Expanding the capacity of organizations like New Bethany to supply fresh, healthy food to families in need is just one part of a broad Shapiro Administration strategy to work toward a healthier, more secure Pennsylvania."

TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants are being awarded to organizations distributing USDA Foods through TEFAP contracts with the state, county, or a county-designated Lead Agency.

Funded projects include expanded cold storage, warehouse space and equipment, delivery vehicles for food distribution, and other investments that expand TEFAP’s reach into isolated or underserved rural or low-income communities.

The department will be announcing a second round of TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants, with more than $2.5 million in available funding, in October 2023.

According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap, in 2022, more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians, or 8.9 percent of everyone in the state, and 13 percent of Pennsylvania's children, may not know the source of their next meal.