Cash donations will benefit Bucks County’s food pantries and will be matched dollar for dollar by Penn Community Bank’s charitable foundation
The Times
Penn Community Bank is hosting its annual Feed-A-Neighbor food drive this holiday season, with one important twist. To help area food pantries increase the amount of fresh, healthy foods available to those in need, Penn Community will accept cash donations along with traditional non-perishable food donations at each of its 25 branches across Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Also new in 2018, individuals can learn more about combating food insecurity and make an online donation by visiting PennCommunityBank.com/FeedANeighbor. In support of the drive’s new goal, the bank’s charitable arm, Penn Community Foundation, will match every cash donation dollar for dollar, up to $5,000, effectively doubling the impact of each donation.
All money raised during the drive, which runs through Dec. 15, will be donated to Bucks County Opportunity Council, the lead local agency that coordinates food donations to more than 60 pantries across Bucks County. According to BCOC, a $1 donation can provide two meals to help feed those in need, but during the Feed-A-Neighbor campaign, $1 will provide four meals, thanks to the matching donation from Penn Community Foundation.
“Cash donations are more economical, as pantries can buy up to 10 times more food from their discounted suppliers than individuals can purchase even when items are on sale at local grocery stores,” said Todd R. Hurley, Penn Community Bank’s chief relationship officer. “Plus, cash donations enable pantries to buy badly needed perishable foods such as eggs, dairy, beef, poultry, and fruits and vegetables, which are difficult to accept during traditional food drives.”
Nearly 1 in 10 Bucks County residents are classified as food insecure, according to data from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap project, which means that more than 50,000 county residents do not have reliable access to food every day. More than 12 percent of Bucks County’s children, about 16,640, are food insecure, and more than half of those are not eligible for most federal nutrition programs because their households have incomes above 185 percent of the poverty line (about $46,000 for a family of four).
