Gettysburg, PA – Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and Pennsylvania Air National Guard Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Lynn Lee visited the Gettysburg distribution site of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s MilitaryShare program, where they assisted volunteers in unloading trucks of Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) products and distributing nutritious food to local veteran and active-duty military families.
“Pennsylvania’s military and veteran families have sacrificed so much for all of us,” Secretary Redding said. “As we enter the season of gratitude, it is our responsibility to ensure they have access to fresh, healthy food. The Governor’s increased investment in food assistance programs is making a real, immediate difference for families across the Commonwealth.”
The visit comes during a time of historic demand on Pennsylvania’s charitable food system, as the Shapiro Administration continues strengthening and expanding statewide food assistance. This year’s budget delivers unprecedented new resources for food security, ensuring that vulnerable Pennsylvanians — including service members, veterans, children, and seniors — have access to the nutritious food they need.
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, a member of Feeding Pennsylvania, is the region’s largest food distribution organization, serving 27 counties and partnering with more than 1,130 agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, and veteran service organizations. The Food Bank moves six million pounds of food each month, distributing more than 53.8 million meals in 2024 alone.
More than 9% of households receiving food assistance in central Pennsylvania include a current or former member of the U.S. military. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank created MilitaryShare to ensure military families receive fresh, nutritious food with dignity and convenience.
The program serves all branches and statuses — active-duty, veterans, reservists, and the inactive ready reserve — through 28 distribution sites across the Food Bank’s 27-county service area, reaching more than 45,000 individuals annually. Distributions are held at armories, VFWs, and AMVET locations to ensure privacy and accessibility.
“With programs like MilitaryShare, we ensure military families receive the support they’ve earned," said Maj. Gen. John Pippy, Pennsylvania's adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "We are grateful for community partners like the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and Department of Agriculture who pull together and remind us that caring for our heroes starts with caring for those they love."
Food Security Investments in the 2025–26 Budget
During the visit, Secretary Redding and Brig. General Lee joined volunteers in unpacking deliveries funded by the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) and preparing boxes for distribution. Pennsylvania’s agriculture sector, farm communities and food insecure residents all benefit from PASS, which redirects millions of pounds of Pennsylvania-grown agricultural products that might otherwise go to waste to organizations that provide nutritious meals.
PASS-supported foods distributed today included milk, yogurt, applesauce from Knouse Foods, and apples, potatoes, and butter from Sunset Farms.
This year’s budget includes a historic $11 million increase for food security, including:
- $3 million for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP)
- $1 million for the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS)
- $2 million for a new statewide Food Bucks program to help SNAP families purchase fresh, Pennsylvania-grown foods
- $5 million in new funding for Pennsylvania’s food banks and food access.
The budget also continues to support Pennsylvania’s agricultural sector by assisting poultry farmers affected by high-path avian influenza (HPAI) with testing and flock losses; investing in agricultural innovation, energy, and conservation projects to modernize the industry and attract new agricultural businesses; and supporting a new state laboratory in Western Pennsylvania. These investments ensure Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in agriculture, strengthen the charitable food system, and build the future of farming across the Commonwealth.
With these investments, Pennsylvania is committing more than $40 million in state funding to combating food insecurity, strengthening the charitable food system, and ensuring families across the Commonwealth have access to fresh, healthy foods.
Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, Pennsylvania has advanced major initiatives to reduce hunger and support resilient food systems, including:
- Providing universal free breakfast for 1.7 million students and free lunch for 22,000 students — serving nearly 93 million breakfasts last school year.
- Expanding Summer EBT and increasing support to feed children in the summer months through the Summer Food Service Program. seniors.
- Challenging the USDA for unlawfully terminating the $13 million Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) Program, which supports 189 Pennsylvania farms and 14 food banks.
- Responding swiftly to the federal shutdown by issuing a disaster declaration, directing $5 million for the immediate purchase of food through the PASS program to support food banks serving all 67 counties, and launching the SNAP Emergency Relief Fund, which has raised more than $2 million in private donations.
- Joining 24 other states and Washington, D.C. in successfully suing the Trump Administration for suspending SNAP payments and failing to use contingency funds approved by Congress.
For more information about Pennsylvania’s food assistance programs, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s website, agriculture.pa.gov.
Editor’s Note: Additional photos of the event can be found on the department’s photo gallery.
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