Below you will find additional context worth noting when using these dashboards to understand WIC participation: · Pennsylvania requires that WIC participants visit in person to reload their benefits onto their EBT cards. This has had a significant negative impact on WIC participation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the in-person visit requirements create a significant administrative burden on program participants that may deter them from continuing to utilize the program. · The expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments at the end of February 2023 is a likely cause of the increase in ..read more

Service Insights and Charitable Food Demand Over Time Download a Copy of this Months Policy Blog In this month’s policy blog, CPFB Policy Research dives into charitable food demand over the last thirteen months as seen through Service Insights on MealConnect, a digital pantry service record system, as well as some of the potential contributing factors to the trends seen across the charitable food network in 2023. Demand for charitable food services increased by 27% in 2023, according to data from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s Service Insights on MealConnect digital pantry service syst ..read more

Below is a set of three interactive SNAP dashboards! Here are a few tips to help you use it most effectively: To change between the SNAP Participants By Month, Average SNAP Benefits Per Person Per Month, and the Total SNAP Benefits Per Month dashboards, click the left or right arrows at the bottom of the dashboard. To filter the dashboards by geography, such as for a specific county or for the CPFB’s service territory, click the appropriate checkbox in the navigation pane on the right hand side of the dashboard. Selections made with these filters will apply to all three dashboards. To filte ..read more

Lebanon County Data BytesPantry Visits, Very Low Food Security, and SNAP Download a Copy of this Months Policy Blog In this month’s Policy Blog, CPFB Policy Research is pleased to present Data Bytes, a brief look at small but compelling pieces of data captured as part of our larger Community Hunger Mapping projects. The following Bytes all stem from our forthcoming Lebanon County Community Hunger Mapping Final Report – enjoy the sneak preview! As part of the Community Hunger Mapping process, CPFB Policy Research uses multiple tools to collect data about the charitable food system, includi ..read more

The Impact of Universal Eligibility on School Breakfast Participation in Pennsylvania Download a Copy of this Memo Pennsylvania’s universal school breakfast initiative is not even one year old yet, but it is already creating positive impacts for kids. Participation in school breakfast jumped nearly 20% as a result of Governor Wolf’s $21 million investment that made school breakfast free for all students, regardless of income and without the need for families to complete income eligibility applications. The universal school breakfast program recently passed in this year’s state budget will l ..read more

This report examines 2021 food insecurity rates in the 27 counties served by the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank (CPFB) and how these rates have changed since 2020 using newly released Feeding America Map the Meal Gap food insecurity estimates. This report is best seen as a backwards-looking examination of food insecurity in the CPFB’s service territory in 2021; the data and conclusions written below are not reflective of the current food insecurity situation as of July 2023. Food insecurity in CPFB counties dropped overall in 2021; this is likely due to the presence of multiple large and inn ..read more

When we talk about history, we’re really talking about someone’s description of historical events–a story. The accuracy of our stories depends largely on first-person accounts by people who were there.  Written accounts of history by people who were “in the room where it happened” are common, especially in American history.  We celebrate the words and actions of American heroes in history books, movies, art, popular culture, and our nation’s shared memories.  But we don’t always get the story exactly right. The Juneteenth holiday is such a story.  If you’ve heard of June ..read more

This short research memo discusses how residents of Cumberland County access charitable food based on a series of 13 interviews with neighbors who visited different food pantries across the county. A larger version of this memo includes the neighbor experience at food pantries in Cumberland, as well as the CPFB researcher’s background and research methods. Two Central Pennsylvania Food Bank researchers developed the flexible guide and conducted all 13 interviews. The interview guide, and the interviews themselves, asked about visiting a food pantry from the perspective of pantry users. The op ..read more

Last year, we started on a journey to grow as an organization, and as individuals, by committing to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging head-on.  Part of that commitment has been to work with Leadership Restores, a cooperative of Black, women-owned businesses that help organizations embrace and develop equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We want to celebrate Leadership Restores and the eye-opening work they’ve done to help the Food Bank grow. In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, we asked Cynthia Butler and Dr. Linnie Carter some questions to celebrate their important work thro ..read more

(Photo Courtesy of Penn Live) Bold Goal 2025 Plan (Refresh 2022) Introduction The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank embarked upon its Bold Goal 2025 Plan in 2015 and has continued to make progress each year, even during the COVID pandemic that resulted in massive increases in food insecurity in 2020 and 2021. This Plan was refreshed in 2022 to reflect the food insecurity impacts of the pandemic, our learnings during this crisis, and the unique set of opportunities and challenges we now face in our mission. Our Bold Goal By 2025, our collaborative network will provide access to enough nutritious ..read more