Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and Pennsylvania Air National Guard Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Lynn Lee visited the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s MilitaryShare distribution site in Gettysburg, where they assisted with unloading Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) products and distributing food to veteran and active-duty military families.
The visit took place as demand on Pennsylvania’s charitable food system remains high and the Shapiro Administration continues to expand statewide food assistance programs. The 2025–26 state budget includes a $11 million increase for food security initiatives.
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, a member of Feeding Pennsylvania, serves 27 counties and partners with more than 1,130 agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, and veteran service organizations. The Food Bank distributes approximately six million pounds of food monthly and provided more than 53.8 million meals in 2024.
More than 9% of households receiving food assistance in central Pennsylvania include a current or former member of the U.S. military. The Food Bank created the MilitaryShare program to serve military families through 28 distribution sites across its service area, reaching more than 45,000 individuals each year. Distributions are held at armories, VFWs, and AMVET locations.
During the visit, volunteers prepared food boxes funded through PASS, which redirects Pennsylvania-grown agricultural products to food assistance organizations. Food distributed included milk and yogurt, applesauce from Knouse Foods, and apples, potatoes, and butter from Sunset Farms.
The 2025–26 budget includes the following food security investments:
- $3 million for the State Food Purchase Program
- $1 million for the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System
- $2 million for a new statewide Food Bucks program for SNAP households
- $5 million in new funding for food banks and food access initiatives
Additional funding continues support for poultry farmers affected by high-path avian influenza, agricultural innovation and conservation projects, and a new state laboratory in Western Pennsylvania. In total, Pennsylvania is committing more than $40 million in state funding toward food security and strengthening the charitable food system.
Other recent initiatives include universal free breakfast for 1.7 million students, expanded Summer EBT benefits, legal action challenging the termination of the federal Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program, emergency food purchases during a federal shutdown, creation of the SNAP Emergency Relief Fund, and participation in multi-state litigation related to suspended SNAP payments.
More information on Pennsylvania food assistance programs is available through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at agriculture.pa.gov.
