Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding Visits Bucks County to Dig into the Issue of Food Insecurity

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Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding
Image via WFMZ 69 News.
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding .

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding rolled up his sleeves at a Buckingham Township farm to highlight a statewide initiative to address food insecurity. WFMZ 69 News rooted out the story.

Redding helped volunteers harvest fresh produce at Carversville Farm Foundation. The agribusiness has just recently joined the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS).

According to its online description, PASS provides an efficient mechanism for Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry to donate safe, wholesome food products. Donors are reimbursed for the costs involved in harvesting, processing, packaging, and transporting these goods.

Without PASS, the site says, the food products would likely otherwise be left to rot in the field, be plowed under, be dumped, or be landfilled.

Redding said the pandemic magnified the issue of food insecurity in Pennsylvania, underscoring the importance of the PASS initiative.

“It puts food in the hands of our neighbors who need it. But from our perspective, it also directly ties the agriculture community into serving and satisfying that need,” Redding commented.

More than 165 farms in the state have signed up for the PASS program.

Redding said more than 16 million pounds of food have been donated to Pennsylvania’s charitable food supply.

More on this story is at WFMZ 69 News.

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