{"id":44897,"date":"2025-11-03T09:51:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T14:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44897"},"modified":"2025-11-03T09:51:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T14:51:47","slug":"county-organizations-launch-help-feed-chesco-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44897","title":{"rendered":"County organizations launch ‘Help Feed Chesco’ initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Chester County United Way, Chester County Community Foundation, The Alliance<\/span> for Health<\/span> Equity,<\/span> and<\/span> United<\/span> Way<\/span> of Southern<\/span> Chester County<\/span> have<\/span> joined<\/span> forces<\/span> to launch a collaborative<\/span> relief<\/span> effort<\/span> to<\/span> support<\/span> our<\/span> neighbors<\/span> experiencing<\/span> food<\/span> insecurity.<\/span> Together,<\/span> the<\/span> organizations <\/span>have each contributed $25,000 to create a $100,000 matching fund, unlocking a potential total impact of $200,000 for<\/span> the<\/span> Chester<\/span> County<\/span> Food<\/span> Bank<\/span> to amplify<\/span> community<\/span> donations and<\/span> maximize<\/span> the<\/span> impact for <\/span>local families. This initiative will keep shelves plentiful and provide essential aid to households across the county.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn<\/span> recent<\/span> months,<\/span> funding<\/span> delays<\/span> and<\/span> changes<\/span> to<\/span> state<\/span> and<\/span> federal<\/span> assistance<\/span> programs,<\/span> including<\/span> SNAP, <\/span>have increased the strain on families, resulting in more visits to local food pantries, hot meal sites, and shelters,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span> Andi<\/span> Youndt,<\/span> CEO<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Chester County<\/span> Food<\/span> Bank. \u201cAs a<\/span> result,<\/span> the<\/span> Chester County<\/span> Food<\/span> Bank <\/span>has increased its distribution to these organizations by more than 2 million pounds year over year.\u201d To meet this ongoing need, the partner organizations are also encouraging the community to help collect 50,000 pounds of food to restock shelves at this vital time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cChester<\/span> County<\/span> residents<\/span> are<\/span> amazing<\/span> at<\/span> lifting<\/span> up<\/span> our<\/span> neighbors<\/span> in<\/span> need,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span> Christopher<\/span> Saello,<\/span> President &<\/span> CEO<\/span> of<\/span> Chester<\/span> County<\/span> United<\/span> Way.<\/span> \u201cI<\/span> am<\/span> confident<\/span> that<\/span> through<\/span> this<\/span> collaborative<\/span> effort,<\/span> we<\/span> can<\/span> make<\/span> sure <\/span>that no neighbor goes hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbrupt<\/span> federal<\/span> funding<\/span> cuts,<\/span> the<\/span> PA<\/span> budget<\/span> impasse<\/span> in<\/span> Harrisburg,<\/span> cancelled<\/span> contracts,<\/span> rising<\/span> costs,<\/span> and increased<\/span> need<\/span> have<\/span> collided<\/span> to<\/span> create<\/span> a<\/span> crisis.<\/span> Sadly,<\/span> the<\/span> worst<\/span> is<\/span> yet<\/span> to<\/span> come,”<\/span> said<\/span> Karen<\/span> Simmons, <\/span>President\/CEO<\/span> of Chester County Community<\/span> Foundation. \u201cA<\/span> coordinated response<\/span> sustains access<\/span> to food <\/span>for<\/span> needy<\/span> families<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> abundantly<\/span> resourced<\/span> Chester<\/span> County.<\/span> This<\/span> buys<\/span> a<\/span> little<\/span> bit<\/span> of<\/span> time<\/span> to<\/span> find<\/span> new solutions<\/span> and<\/span> coordinate<\/span> with<\/span> new<\/span> partners,<\/span> to<\/span> build<\/span> a<\/span> more<\/span> resilient<\/span> future<\/span> where<\/span> no<\/span> one<\/span> in Chester<\/span> County <\/span>goes hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe inadequate food supports that previously existed are now exacerbated by politics that increasingly feel divisive<\/span> akin<\/span> to<\/span> team<\/span> sports,”<\/span> said<\/span> Kevin<\/span> Ressler,<\/span> President<\/span> &<\/span> CEO<\/span> of<\/span> The<\/span> Alliance<\/span> for<\/span> Health<\/span> Equity.<\/span> \u201cWhile<\/span> we <\/span>hope<\/span> that<\/span> national<\/span> and<\/span> statewide<\/span> politics<\/span> can remember<\/span> that all<\/span> community<\/span> members are<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> team, <\/span>we have decided we cannot wait to act in some way.”<\/p>\n

\u201cAt<\/span> a<\/span> moment<\/span> when<\/span> so<\/span> many<\/span> families<\/span> are<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> brink<\/span> of<\/span> crisis,<\/span> our<\/span> partnership<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Chester<\/span> County<\/span> Food <\/span>Bank means they can move emergency resources faster and more effectively to our local food pantries, ensuring that no child in our community goes to bed hungry,” said Darcie Martin, CEO of United Way of Southern Chester County. \u201cWe are proud to<\/span> unite<\/span> with Chester County<\/span> United<\/span> Way, Alliance for Health Equity <\/span>and Chester County Community Foundation to provide some hope in a time of uncertainty for our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Every<\/span> contribution,<\/span> whether<\/span> financial<\/span> or<\/span> food,<\/span> helps<\/span> ensure<\/span> that<\/span> our<\/span> Chester<\/span> County<\/span> neighbors<\/span> continue<\/span> to <\/span>have<\/span> access<\/span> to<\/span> nutritious<\/span> meals.<\/span> To<\/span> learn more,<\/span> visit<\/span> www.HelpFeedChesco.org<\/span>.<\/span><\/a><\/span> For<\/span> those<\/span> in<\/span> need<\/span> of<\/span> food, <\/span>resources<\/span> are<\/span> available<\/span> by<\/span> calling<\/span> 211<\/span> or<\/span> visiting<\/span> the<\/span> \u201cFind<\/span> Food\u201d<\/span> tab<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Chester<\/span> County<\/span> Food<\/span> Bank\u2019s <\/span>website, chestercountyfoodbank.org\/find-help\/food-finder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chester County United Way, Chester County Community Foundation, The Alliance for Health Equity, and United Way of Southern Chester County have joined forces to launch a collaborative relief effort to support our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Together, the organizations have each contributed $25,000 to create a $100,000 matching fund, unlocking a potential total impact of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2320,189,6518,4613,10905,5705],"class_list":["post-44897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chester-county-community-foundation","tag-chester-county-food-bank","tag-featured","tag-food","tag-government-shutdown","tag-united-way-of-chester-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44898,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44897\/revisions\/44898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}