Ed Weaver has a problem, one that many farmers face.
The third-generation owner of Weaver’s Orchard in Robeson Township often finds himself with crops that he doesn’t know what to do with. It may be bushels of apples that he won’t be able to sell before they go bad, or perhaps a patch of strawberries too small to make harvesting them worth the cost of labor.
Does he give up on them? Does he toss those apples or plow over those strawberries?
It seems like a waste to give up on the crops. But often doing so simply makes more financial sense than trying to find a way to use them.
Jay Worrall has a problem, too.
The president of Helping Harvest is constantly trying to find ways to keep the shelves of the food bank stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. He searches for deals with grocery stores, he looks for people willing to donate goods.
And over the past few years, with the COVID-19 pandemic creating greater need and spurring inflation, his task has become harder and harder.
Thanks to a relatively new state program, Weaver’s dilemma can now be solved in a way that also solves Worrall’s problem.
Making connections
The Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System program helps to support the agricultural industry statewide, making connections between farmers and nonprofit organizations responsible for getting more nutritious food into the hands of people at risk of hunger.
In the most basic terms, it uses state funds to pay farmers to harvest, process and transport goods to local food banks.
Originally created in 2010, the program was first funded in 2015 by Gov. Tom Wolf at $1 million. The current budget is $4.5 million, but state Sen. Judy Schwank wants to see that number doubled.
Schwank — joined by Weaver, Worrall and a handful of other local legislators — stopped by Weaver’s Orchard on Thursday morning to call for increasing the PASS budget to $9 million in the 2023-24 state budget.
“This is a unique program in the commonwealth that other states do not have,” she said. “It’s important to note today that we have this wonderful program because we are at the beginning of the planting season and we’re also in the budget season.”
Schwank, who serves as the Democratic chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, said there is evidence to show that this program has been extremely successful. In 2020 alone, Feeding Pennsylvania reported that 1.7 million pounds of food were distributed to more than 485,000 households across the state.
“We want to be sure that people get the best products we can possibly offer from our food bank system,” she said. “We know the number of people coming to food banks has increased, and we think this program can be a key piece to meeting the demand.”
Meeting the demand
Worrall highlighted some of the challenges of meeting the demand, noting that ongoing inflation and other factors have made food insecurity worse.
He said last year Helping Harvest provided $15 million in food assistance — more than it did during the height of the pandemic in 2020. And, he said, the organization is expecting to see that trend continue.
“We now are experiencing a time where the resources available to meet the nutritional needs of the children, seniors and families that we support simply are not there,” he said. “And we’re having to make choices about whether we can serve everyone. It’s a problem that keeps leaders of food banks up at night.”
But, Worrall said, the PASS program could be transformative in the way that food banks operate across the country. He said enough food is being grown to meet the need but the nation lacks the mechanisms to get that food from the farms to the mouths of those who need it.
Worrall said Helping Harvest has made many connections through the program with producers in Berks and Schuylkill counties. But Weaver’s Orchard is probably one of the best partners they have.
“They’ve been very helpful, and we’ve been very grateful,” he said.
Cutting down on waste
Weaver said he feels strongly about advocating for food security.
“Food security really is a national security issue,” he said. “That’s what I appreciate about the vision of what’s being presented here today. We talk about the need to feed families that are in need, but it’s a complicated thing. It takes a lot of people, it takes a lot of connections.”
Weaver said being part of the PASS program makes him feel like he’s doing his small part to help solve the issue.
The orchard primarily contributes apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and squash to Helping Harvest. Weaver said that when his team is contemplating what to do with a particular product that they may not have a place for at the moment, he said knowing that they will get reimbursed for the harvesting and processing is helpful.
“It also gives me a really good feeling to know where it’s going,” he said. “We know it’s getting to the people who need it most.”
