By Blake Jackson
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Feeding Pennsylvania marked 10 years of partnership through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS), a program designed to connect surplus farm products with families facing food insecurity across the state.
Since 2016, PASS has helped reduce food waste while supporting Pennsylvania farmers with dependable markets for excess crops.
Over the past decade, the program has distributed $31.9 million to Feeding Pennsylvania’s network of food banks, allowing them to purchase 38.3 million pounds of surplus food from local producers.
The initiative has helped provide more than 31.7 million meals to nearly 7.9 million households statewide. PASS funding also assists with harvesting, transportation, processing, and packaging costs, ensuring fresh products reach food banks instead of going unused.
Russell Redding highlighted the importance of the initiative for both farmers and residents struggling with hunger.
“Pennsylvania farmers are great at what they do. We need our farmers to stay in business. And we need to feed the 1.7 million Pennsylvanians who struggle with hunger,” Secretary Redding said.
“For 10 years, PASS has been a highly effective tool for bridging that gap between abundance and need - by multiplying the work our farmers and food banks do every day to help feed our neighbors. PASS is just one more way the Shapiro Administration is creating opportunities for Pennsylvania families and the farmers who feed them to thrive.”
The anniversary event took place at Weaver's Orchard, a family-owned operation that has participated in PASS since the program began. The orchard supplies surplus fruit to Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank.
"Weaver's Orchard is privileged to be located in a great fruit-growing area of Berks County and we are thankful we can contribute to the nutritional needs of the community through the Helping Harvest Food Bank system," said Ed Weaver, president of Weaver's Orchard.
"The PASS program has provided a valuable resource by funding the harvest, container, and transportation costs for the surplus produce we have at times throughout the year. It is rewarding to us as a family to know that we can bless others with some of our produce each season."
Governor Josh Shapiro has also proposed additional investments in food assistance, agricultural innovation, and local food access as part of the state’s 2026-27 budget plan.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-fatcamera
Categories: Pennsylvania, Government & Policy