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Cumberland County proclaims September 2025 as Hunger Action Month; food providers warn demand is rising
Summary
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners proclaimed September 2025 as Hunger Action Month and heard from local food system partners who said demand for emergency food increased over the past year and that resources are strained.
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday proclaimed September 2025 as Hunger Action Month and recognized the Cumberland County Food System Alliance and local food banks for their work addressing food insecurity. Commissioners read the proclamation at the start of the meeting and invited representatives of local food providers to speak.
The proclamation notes that, according to Feeding America, about 1 in 8 Pennsylvanians and 1 in 6 children experience food insecurity and that in Cumberland County an estimated 1 in 9 residents and 1 in 7 children are food insecure. It also cited the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s distribution of more than 5,500,000 pounds of food to residents in need.
On behalf of the Cumberland County Food System Alliance, a representative thanked the commissioners for the recognition and encouraged residents to donate or volunteer with local food banks. Stephanie Williams, a senior planner with the county, introduced the group and said the proclamation was intended to raise awareness of the alliance’s partnership with food banks and pantries.
A speaker identified as an agency representative said charitable food providers are serving substantially more people than they did four years ago and described an increase in demand over the last year. “Over the last year I know at our agency New Boat Industries we saw an increase of 13% in the number of people served,” the representative said, adding that many providers are operating with diminishing resources.
The commissioners posed no questions and presented certificates and posed for photographs with representatives from Project SHARE, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and others. The proclamation urges residents and county employees to donate, volunteer or advocate on behalf of local food security organizations.
The proclamation and remarks came during the public portion of the commissioners’ meeting; there was no separate vote record noted beyond the formal reading and presentation.
