Credit: Jason Jimenez
Several Bucks County food banks have been awarded state grants to help reduce wasted food and fight hunger in Pennsylvania.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently awarded $4.1 million to a number of nonprofit groups in the state.
Grants were awarded to the following local recipients:
Bucks County Opportunity Council Inc – $46,974
Still Rise Foundation Inc – $7,700
Renew Bible Ministries of Perkasie INC DBA Revivals – $50,000
Rolling Harvest Food Rescue – $9,258
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The money comes through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Food Recovery Infrastructure Grant program.
The money can be used to to reimburse the cost of equipment, including refrigerators, freezers, refrigerated and non-refrigerated vehicles, stoves, and microwaves to store, transport, or prepare the recovered safe, fresh, wholesome foods to ensure that the food can be redistributed to the public.
“This program is all about getting good, fresh food to the Pennsylvanians who need it most instead of going to waste in landfills,” said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Nonprofit organizations such as food banks and soup kitchens play a vital role in providing sustenance to Commonwealth communities, so it’s important that the food they provide is transported and stored properly.”
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State officials said wasted food causes greenhouse gases when it decomposes.
Food waste was estimated to be the largest single component of the waste stream in Pennsylvania, at nearly 1.6 million tons disposed.
In 2018, EPA estimated that in the U.S. more food was sent to landfills than any other single material in our everyday trash.
