Deputy Senate President Pro Tempore Elder Vogel Jr. (R-47) was joined by members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Hunger Caucus and numerous hunger awareness advocates today (May 11) to mark the 11th season opening of the Capitol Hunger Garden.
Senator Vogel, who serves as the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, and Representative Jake Wheatley (D-19) are the co-chairs of the Legislative Hunger Caucus, whose members work together and participate in outreach initiatives to raise awareness of the problem of food insufficiency in communities across Pennsylvania.
“COVID-19 increased the problem of food insufficiency in Pennsylvania’s communities last year as essential supply chains were broken and vital school lunch programs were suspended,” said Senator Vogel. “Spring is traditionally a time for renewal, especially this year as our Commonwealth recovers from the pandemic. As we come together to open the Hunger Garden, we are doing more than simply planting seeds in the ground near the Capitol. We are renewing hope in Pennsylvania and taking another step to promote hunger awareness in our Commonwealth.”
The Capitol Hunger Garden, which is overseen by the Hunger Caucus and tended to by the Penn State Master Gardeners, is an approximately 1,000 square-foot area plot of land adjacent to the State Capitol Building.
Since its inception, the garden has annually produced between 700 and 800 pounds of vegetables that are donated to food banks, pantries and local soup kitchens, such as the Downtown Daily Bread located in Harrisburg.
Anyone interested in the Hunger Garden and efforts to address food insecurity should contact Senator Vogel’s Harrisburg Office at (717) 787-3076 for more information. For additional information regarding the Capitol Hunger Garden, please visit: https://thehungercaucus.pasenategop.com/how-to-help/
For more information about the organizations:
Downtown Daily Bread: https://downtowndailybread.org/
Feeding Pennsylvania: https://www.feedingpa.org/
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank: https://www.centralpafoodbank.org/
Penn State Master Gardener Program: https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener
Video of Senator Vogel’s comments at the ceremony.
Video of the complete ceremony.
CONTACT: Cara Laudenslager claudenslager@pasen.gov