I recently joined my colleagues in the Hunger Caucus in opening the state’s Hunger Garden at the Capitol. Since 2010, this annual event has been celebrated and kick-starts our activities in support of our farmers and citizens. As co-chair of the bipartisan and bicameral legislative caucus, I am proud of the work and partnership involved in this effort — from the master gardener program of the Penn State Cooperative Extension which tends to the land, to Feeding Pennsylvania (our statewide association), and to the many food pantries and food banks that help distribute food to our citizens in need.
As this season starts, I have reflected upon former state Sen. Michael Brubaker’s original intentions for creating this caucus and its value in the fight to eliminate hunger and food insecurity in the commonwealth. After the global financial collapse of 2008, Brubaker, of Lancaster, R-36th Dist., saw many Pennsylvanians were facing economic situations not seen since the Great Recession. He knew many of these families needed some support to get them through a rough period. At that time, 1.2 million Pennsylvania households were facing food insecurity or hunger, almost 400,000 of whom were children. He and former state Rep. John Myers, of Harrisburg, D-201st Dist., decided more needed to be done to find legislative solutions to this massive and growing problem.