The Westmoreland Food Bank averages 13 trips a month with its Mobile Market, a program started last October to deliver free fresh produce to community members in need.
With the help of a $100,000 state grant and additional federal funding, the food bank hopes to double the number of trips through a new set of wheels.
When the Mobile Market first launched, it operated out of a sprinter van. Friday, the food bank unveiled its new custom refrigerated truck with triple the capacity for produce, according to food bank board chair Ron Eberhardt.
“Our Mobile Market program is another way that we now have to continue to achieve our mission … to enable our neighbors in Westmoreland County to have ready access to food,” Eberhardt said.
The Westmoreland Food Bank serves more than 8,000 different homes a month. In 2022, it distributed about 5.5 million pounds of food across the county — 1.5 million of which was fresh produce.
Its Mobile Market provides produce to low-income areas, senior living homes and college campuses.
Westmoreland Food Bank CEO Jennifer Miller and state Senator Kim Ward were among those who spoke at the unveiling.
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It also seeks to reduce food waste.
The food bank often receives requests from grocery stores, such as Sam’s Club, to take excess produce and distribute it to the county. With the new refrigerated truck, food bank CEO Jennifer Miller said they will be able to use produce that would otherwise go to the landfill.
About 90% of the produce the food bank distributes comes from grocery store donations. The remaining 10% comes from items purchased by the food bank, including milk and cheese from Pleasant Lane Farms in Unity.
About a third of all food in the United States goes uneaten each year, Miller said.
“We strive every year to distribute as much produce as we possibly can through our monthly food pantry distributions, but there is still a need for more. Thanks to our generous benefactors, we are able to provide that,” she said. “We are able to put our new truck to good use and make sure that fresh produce is readily available to all of our neighbors throughout Westmoreland County.”
State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, commended the food bank for addressing hunger in the county.
“It’s a real problem. It’s a real issue,” Ward said. “I’m so grateful to the food bank and for everyone involved — that (you) step up and (you) help take care of these families, because you are angels on Earth for doing what you do.”
County Commissioner Ted Kopas thanked the food bank for continuing to identify and address barriers to food access.
“It’s a shame that you’re here,” Kopas said to the food bank volunteers, “but thank God that you are.”
