Lycoming County commissioners on Sept. 3 proclaimed September 2025 as Hunger Action Month and encouraged residents to support the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and local pantries. Emily Cameron, agency services and training coordinator at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, briefed the board on recent distribution figures and a hunger-mapping project planned for 2026.
The proclamation cites Feeding America data that “more than 1.5 million” Pennsylvanians — about one in eight — and one in six children experience food insecurity, and it notes that in Lycoming County roughly one in seven residents and one in five children are food insecure. The proclamation also states the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank distributed more than 67,500,000 pounds of food in fiscal year 2025, with just under 4,000,000 pounds distributed in Lycoming County.
Emily Cameron told commissioners the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank covers 27 counties from the New York border to the Maryland border and is one of the few Feeding America affiliates with an in-house policy and research department. “We’re one of the few Feeding America food banks in the country that has our own policy and research department,” Cameron said. She said the bank is preparing a 2026 community hunger-mapping report that will provide hyperlocal data intended to support grant-writing and local planning.
Commissioners thanked Cameron and encouraged residents to volunteer at food distribution sites and to donate. The board’s proclamation asks citizens to raise awareness and support the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank’s partners serving the county. A public commenter urged more food-rescue programs and suggested policy changes to reduce waste and increase donations; that remark was recorded as public comment but did not prompt immediate policy action by the board.
The commissioners signed the proclamation as Scott Metzger, chairman; Mark C. Sorkin, vice chairman; and Mark Messina, secretary.