Project funded by Memorial Health Fund at York County Community Foundation

(Harrisburg, PA) – The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank announced today that it has completed Phase 2 of “A Seat at the Table: Ensuring a Seat for all York County Residents in Need,” a project funded by the Memorial Health Fund at the York County Community Foundation, who provided a grant of nearly $200,000 to help the Food Bank and its partners transform youth programs, establish mobile pantries and develop a collaborative network to help close the meal gap in York County during Phase 2. They also granted $250,000 for the initial phase of the Seat at the Table project in 2017, which funded a multi-year research project so the charitable food network could make data-driven decisions to better serve York County neighbors experiencing hunger. The improvements made in Phase 2 were based on the research from Phase 1.

The initial Seat at the Table grant established a partnership between the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, York County Food Bank, New Hope Ministries, York County Food Alliance, and the Catholic Harvest Food Pantry to better serve York County residents. Phase 2 added representatives from York County Human Services, The Salvation Army, Mason-Dixon Community Services, and Northeast Neighborhood Association- Chrystal’s Place. This partnership established first of its kind Collective Impact projects in York County and serves as a model moving forward. These partnerships have resulted in:

  • A more equitable system of evaluating food assistance programs in the county.
  • Combined duplicative services and resources to better serve neighbors in need.
  • Enhanced BackPack programs to models such as a School Pantries to better serve students and their families.
  • Better ability to provide food assistance to specific underserved areas through mobile distributions. This includes mobile food pantry and home delivery innovations.
  • Opened communication channels to other social service organizations.

“The partnerships established through the Seat at the Table project have truly equipped us to better serve the residents of York County and were critical to providing a coordinated and effective COVID-19 response to increased food insecurity in the county,” said Joe Arthur, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. “This project created a collaborative approach among the charitable food network focusing on improving food security and access to healthy meals. We are grateful to the York County Community Foundation for recognizing this need and for generously funding this important work, proving that we are, all, better together.”

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and its partners distribute charitable food to more than 55,000 York County residents every year.

About the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end hunger in 27 counties across Pennsylvania. By working with more than 1,300 local agencies and partner programs, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank serves over 152,000 neighbors in need every month. For more information on the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and its mission to reduce hunger in Pennsylvania, visit centralpafoodbank.org or call 717-564-1700.