Gardeners throughout Philadelphia help combat food insecurity

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) announced that hundreds of gardeners participating in the PHS harvest program have donated 2,476 pounds of homegrown produce to local food banks and community partners.
Now in its second year, PHS harvest, which is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, is a collective action initiative focused on increasing food production by empowering participants to plant food crops and share them locally with organizations such as food banks. Participants include community gardens, religious groups, schools and camps, institutions and individual gardeners.
“Food insecurity remains a significant challenge for many throughout the Philadelphia region,” said the VP of Healthy Neighborhoods for PHS Julianne Schrader Ortega. “We know that our financially vulnerable neighbors are being hit the hardest by unemployment and income loss related to the coronavirus pandemic, further exacerbating food insecurity throughout the region.”

As of September 2020, 64 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties faced a food insecurity rate of at least 13%, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
As part of this initiative, PHS will provide local gardeners, groups and interested individuals with virtual resources on food growing and harvesting; connect gardeners through social media channels and in-person networking opportunities; partner with community-based nonprofits to provide gardening supplies to gardeners in historically-disinvested neighborhoods; create and engage community growing spaces to encourage increased food production; and maintain a network of local food banks to collect and share produce donations.
Individuals and groups who are interested in participating can register at https://phsonline.org/forgardeners/harvest/sign-up.

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