Over 2600 participants combated food insecurity in the Philadelphia region

Over 38 million people in the US face food insecurity. In Pennsylvania, around 16.5% of people are food insecure as of September 2020.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) announced that its efforts have donated 13,285 pounds of produce in the Philadelphia region over the past two months as part of its Harvest program.

PHS Harvest is a collective action initiative that is focused on increased food production, empowering participants to plant food crops and share them with neighbors and organizations like food banks. 2600 people participated in the efforts, including community gardens, religious groups, schools and camps, institutions, and individuals. Over 44,000 pounds of fresh produce was donated to local food banks in 2020.

PHS provides local gardeners educational resources, maintains a list of local retailers and nurseries, partners with nonprofits to provide gardening suppliers to low-income gardeners, and the network of distribution partners.

Food donors include:

• Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA – 2,642 pounds of produce
• Spring Gardens, Philadelphia, PA – 1,419 pounds of produce
• Kennett Middle School Giving Garden, Landenberg, PA – 1,369 pounds of produce
• Werner’s Community Garden, Philadelphia – 950 pounds of produce
• City Harvest Community Garden, Philadelphia, PA – 525 pounds of produce
• Chester Eastside Garden Club, Chester, PA – 483 pounds of produce
• PHS Meadowbrook Farm, Jenkintown, PA – 312 pounds of produce
• Delaware Center for Horticulture Harvest Team, Wilmington, DE – 278 pounds of produce
• Greenhorn Gardens, Drexel Hill, PA – 206 pounds of produce

Interested gardeners and groups can sign up to participate on PHS’s website.

Photo by Marisa Morton on Unsplash

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher