EAST ALLEN TWP., Pa. — Last month, Second Harvest Food Bank fed more than 85,000 people in the Lehigh Valley and the surrounding region — 23,000 children, 44,000 adults and 18,000 seniors.
“We know that children who lack access to food struggle in school and in other social situations,” said Dawn Godshall, executive director of Community Action Lehigh Valley, which runs Second Harvest. “So, it's important what we're doing.
“They keep talking about DOGE and waste and inefficiencies. Well, I don't think there's any inefficiency in feeding people. I think people have a human right to have access to food.”
It’s about to get harder to feed the Valley’s hungry with nutritious, locally-sourced food.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency abruptly — and illegally, state officials argued — canceled Pennsylvania’s $13 million contract with the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program. A pandemic-era program out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, commonwealth farmers were paid to supply local food banks with fresh produce.
For Second Harvest, the organization that distributed funds in the Lehigh Valley, canceling the program impacts 40 farmers and 170 food pantries across its six-county coverage area, Godshall said.
“We understand that every administration has different priorities, but the cancelation of LFPA means less fresh, nutritious food available for people who are facing hunger."Dawn Godshall, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank
LehighValleyNews.com reached out to both a regional LFPA program manager and the USDA for comment, but did not receive a response.
“We understand that every administration has different priorities, but the cancelation of LFPA means less fresh, nutritious food available for people who are facing hunger,” Godshall said. “And, lost revenue for farmers who used that contract to grow their businesses and invest in their operation.
“So, it actually showed how states can work to support local growers and producers, and the key role that food banks can play in this partnership.”
‘A win-win for our entire community’
Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LFPA was aimed at strengthening food systems, expanding local markets and building a resilient food supply chain.
As of December, the USDA through the LFPA provided $900 million in funding to 50 states, the District of Columbia, four territories and 84 tribal governments, sourcing foods from over 8,000 local producers, with more than 5,000 identified as underserved.
“The LFPA actually helped local farmers expand into new markets,” Godshall said. “It helped boost the economy and strengthen the food supply.”
By partnering with local farms, food banks were able to provide fresh produce amid more commonly-donated self-stable goods.
“The LFPA contract helped farmers to continue growing and producing foods, meats, dairy products,” Godshall said. “And so, it's really a win-win for our entire community — for the farmers, for the people that we serve, for the food banks that distribute their goods out into the community.”
Last week, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced he's appealing the USDA’s unlawful termination of the program.
Statewide, $28 million in federal funding has so far been distributed through the LFPA to local farmers. The $13 million contract would have funded the state’s program for three more years.
"I’ve directed [Agriculture] Secretary [Russell] Redding to immediately appeal the USDA’s decision to unlawfully terminate this agreement and demand that the federal government honor their obligations under the agreement we signed just four months ago.”Gov. Josh Shapiro
“Pennsylvania farmers do the noble work of putting food on our table — and for the last three years, they have been paid to provide fresh, local food to food banks across our commonwealth as part of a successful federal initiative,” Shapiro said, in a news release. “But earlier this month, we received notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the Trump administration had decided to cancel our agreement.
“As a result of this unlawful action, 189 Pennsylvania farms will lose a critical source of revenue — and 14 food banks across the commonwealth will lose access to local, fresh food. I’ve directed [Agriculture] Secretary [Russell] Redding to immediately appeal the USDA’s decision to unlawfully terminate this agreement and demand that the federal government honor their obligations under the agreement we signed just four months ago.”
The LFPA program’s cancelation is one of several USDA programs to get booted under the new administration and DOGE.
Earlier this month, farmers across the U.S. were notified their contracts through the USDA’s Climate-Smart Commodities grant program were also frozen.
Almost $13,000 in approved funds for Lehigh County farmers now are frozen, and $71,000 in Northampton County, leaving local farmers scrambling at the start of the growing season.
Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit distributing funding in Pennsylvania, has been vocal in their opposition to the cuts, launching a letter campaign and collecting stories from farmers.
The organization last week joined a lawsuit against Trump and DOGE to release the funding.
‘Nothing beats farm fresh produce’
Before the pandemic, New Bethany's South Bethlehem food pantry would receive some fresh produce from residents with excess from large gardens, or, every once in a while, from a farm.
“But otherwise, we did not get a whole lot of fresh food before the pandemic,” said Marc Rittle, executive director of New Bethany. “During the pandemic, we started developing some relationships with farms, because there were more people coming in and we did need more food.
“And we'd also developed our new Choice Food Pantry, where we have the refrigeration space to have fruits and vegetables.”
Through the LFPA, most of the fresh produce over the years has come from Taproot Farm in Shoemakersville, Berks County.
“We get, like, pounds and pounds and pounds of food — hundreds of pounds of food — every growing season, from Taproot Farm,” Rittle said.
Because of the LFPA, the farmers "were able to actually receive money instead of just donating the food outright,” he said.
With the program canceled, the community has started to step up, Rittle said. One family started buying an extra bag of groceries during their regular trips and donating it.
"There's from 20 to 30 families every single day, five days a week, that come to New Bethany looking for food, and we always run out of supply."Marc Rittle, executive director of New Bethany Ministries
“That has started to happen, but nothing beats farm fresh produce,” he said. “And, we have refrigeration. We have the ability to keep it. We absolutely have the people. There's from 20 to 30 families every single day, five days a week, that come to New Bethany looking for food, and we always run out of supply.
“So, it's really important for us to have as much fresh food access as we possibly can.”
Kathy Fields, owner of Flint Hill Farm Educational Center in Upper Saucon Township, partnered with Second Harvest in 2023 through the LFPA, providing milk to several area food banks, including New Bethany.
“I think it worked extremely well,” Fields said. “The biggest challenge was delivery. We were able to work that out, and either the food banks could come pick it up, or we would be able to deliver.
“So, in that sense, It was a win-win situation for everybody.”
The program gave the farm a direct outlet for sales and also allowed them to serve the community, she said.
With the program canceled, she said, it left some wondering, Why are we going to the federal government for funding for our food pantries?
“Because it really leaves us dependent upon their rules, their regulations, or anything else,” she said, noting that some of the churches she sells to are considering stepping in to make up the difference.
“I can't donate my milk,” Fields said. “I sell my milk at wholesale, but I can't donate because nobody is donating me the feed, the cows, the labor, all the other things.”
