Austin A. Davis 35th Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Department Of Education
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding is set to announce the recipients of Pennsylvania's Fresh Food Financing Initiative grants, totaling $3.4 million. This investment aims to connect low-income communities with fresh and affordable food produced by local farms.
Secretary Redding will be accompanied by farmers and food business leaders at Weaver's Way Co-op. They will share insights from a roundtable discussion held prior to the announcement. The discussion will focus on challenges faced by farmers in delivering fresh food to those in need and explore solutions proposed in Governor Josh Shapiro's budget. This budget includes an $8 million increase in food assistance funding and initiatives addressing root causes of food insecurity. These efforts come amid federal funding cuts affecting regional food supply and potential reductions to programs like SNAP, which could shift significant costs onto states such as Pennsylvania.
In March, Governor Shapiro urged Secretary Redding to appeal the USDA's cancellation of $13 million in Local Food Purchasing Program funds intended for 189 Pennsylvania farms over three years. As of now, the USDA has not responded to this appeal.
The event will feature Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Senator Vincent J. Hughes, Representative Andre D. Carroll, Weaver's Way Co-op General Manager Jon Roesser, and The Food Trust President and CEO Mark Edwards.
The announcement is scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at 11:15 a.m., at Weavers Way Co-Op Germantown Outreach Office in Philadelphia.
Press members planning to attend should RSVP with their news outlet information to aginfo@pa.gov.
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