Central Pennsylvania Food Bank sees sizable jump in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Julia Agos/WITF
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  Julia Agos was a reporter and the host of All Things Considered for WITF.

(Harrisburg) — The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has increased its distribution by 40 percent this year as the pandemic left hundreds of thousands jobless in the midstate.

In April, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate jumped to 15 percent after the state put in place widespread COVID-19 closures. The Department of Labor and Industry reported that number fell to 6.6 percent in November.

The food bank has passed out 15 million extra pounds of food this year to over 200,000 people.

That distribution was in large part made possible by a surge of volunteers, according to Joe Arthur, the food bank’s executive director.

“Without all the volunteer help, we couldn’t produce the roughly 2,000 boxes of food a day we need to produce during the pandemic,” he said. “So, they’ve been amazing.”

He said he expects they’ll exceed 100,000 volunteer hours by the end of the year, a 30 percent increase over 2019.

In April, the food distributor moved its packing operations to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg for extra space for storage and social distancing.

“Groups of young professionals are volunteering to pack food boxes instead of holiday happy hours; they can still gather together with social distance while giving back to the community,” said Jennifer Sands, the food bank’s spokesperson.

Arthur said many people are experiencing food insecurity for the first time.

He is encouraging people to not hesitate to reach out for help. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has an information page on its website with resources to help find a nearby pantry or apply for SNAP benefits. The food bank has a helpline at (877) 999-5964.

“Many of these people have been working their whole lives. They have been donors; these are folks who usually help others. When you need help ask for it and we are here to help if you have a need for food assistance,” he said.

Arthur expects the increase in food insecurity in the area to last for another two years as the COVID-19 vaccine gets more widely distributed and the economy continues to rebound.