State grant reopening to fight hunger and prevent food waste

(WHTM) – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced the reopening of the food recovery infrastructure grants program.

“I know I’m not supposed to pick favorites for grants. Like it’s like picking your favorite kid, but this is probably my favorite grant program,” said Jessica Shirley, Department of Environmental Protection acting secretary.

This time around the grant will award up to $50,000 per applicant. The grant helps equip organizations with whatever they need to keep food fresh and prevent it from spoiling and ending up in a landfill.

“Like refrigerators and coolers or vehicles to transport the fresh items from where it is to where it is needed, and microwaves to help prepare the food for people who need it,” said Shirley.

This is the third time the grant is available since it kicked-off in 2019. In 2020, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank was awarded $200,000 from this grant.

“We were able to replace some aging trucks, replace them with vehicles that were refrigerated, four of them, and a van for one of our partner agencies that’s actually run by our food bank,” said Joe Arthur, CEO of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.

To date, Arthur says that have rescued 28 million pounds of food.

“And that food is food that did not then go to a landfill or some other environmentally unsound disposal. It actually went to kitchen tables,” said Arthur.

This grant not only helps fight hunger but climate change. But what does food and climate change have to do with each other?

“Well, when fresh food, like fruits and vegetables are sent to a landfill, they break down into methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and a major contributor to climate change. So, every potato, every stock of broccoli, every apple that stays out of the trash and can be preserved and delivered to someone is also helping to fight climate change,” said Shirley.

Since the grant launched in 2019, 260 nonprofits have been awarded around $14 million. Shirley says this might be the last time this grant is offered.

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Shirley says they will start accepting application on October 12 ^th and applications will be accepted until the end of February.

To apply, you must reach out to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s regional planning and recycling coordinator.

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