Hess Bros. Fruit Co., Lancaster, Pa., hosted a roundtable discussion with Pennsylvania agriculture officials, charities and food companies to discuss how to get crops that farmers can’t use to families in the area.
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller delved into the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System, which gives money to farmers so they can to transport food that would otherwise be wasted to families who need it most, according to a news release.
Hess has supplied more than 370,000 pounds of fresh fruit to the program. The company hosted the discussion among program partners, including contributing growers, charitable food organizations and processors.
“Agriculture is the antidote to hunger,” Redding said in the release. “PASS gets that food where it is needed, while supporting the generosity of farmers like the Hess family.”
More than 1.53 million Pennsylvanians — one in every eight people — don’t always know where their next meal is coming from, according to 2017 research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf requested a $1 million funding increase for the program in his 2020-21 budget proposal.
“Our organization believes it is our greatest honor to help feed the world,” Andy Figart, Hess Bros. president, said in the release. “The PASS program helps us do that by ensuring that our growers are not being financially punished for their generosity.”
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