Greater Pike puts new emergency fund in place

To support hard-pressed local food pantries during a challenging time, Greater Pike Community Foundation has set up a special, dedicated fund designed to rapidly funnel donations to local food pantries. Contributions to the new Community Harvest Fund will go directly to participating food pantries to provide immediate relief and ensure that no neighbor goes hungry.

“Cuts to federal food-assistance programs, Pennsylvania’s budget impasse, the federal government shutdown, inflation, and increased grocery prices are combining to create a perfect storm that is about to hit local food pantries,” said Rick Little, Greater Pike’s Executive Director. “These pantries were already hard-pressed to meet the needs of the community, given significant increases in both the number of recipients and the cost of food.”

“These are hard times for a lot of our neighbors,” said Jim Snodgrass, treasurer of the Ecumenical Food Pantry in Milford. He cited the double-whammy of rising client visits and skyrocketing costs of the groceries needed to feed them.

“In August 2024 we provided food to 330 family visits. In August 2025 we served 414 family visits,” he said. At the same time, “In the first nine months of 2025 we have spent over $82,000 on food. For the same period last year, we spent around $45,000.”

According to Feeding Pennsylvania, the state budget impasse has halted critical funding through programs like the State Food Purchase Program and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System, which help food banks purchase fresh produce, dairy, and protein for their communities. At the same time, the federal government this year cut $13 million in food-purchasing programs in Pennsylvania and canceled $6 million of food shipments in the state from the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program.

The latest blow is the halt of funding for the nation’s largest food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, at the start of November due to the ongoing government shutdown. According to census data, about 11 percent of Pike County’s residents, or a total of 6,719 people, rely on SNAP to feed their families. Many of them will need to turn to local food pantries until these benefits resume.

The board of directors at Greater Pike aims to address this crisis through the new Community Harvest Fund. Greater Pike has long supported area food pantries with regular grants, but this is the first separate, dedicated fund created for that purpose and designed to streamline community support.

“We hope to encourage philanthropy around this need among residents and businesses in Pike County,” said Little, the Executive Director. “Fully 100 percent of whatever gets donated will be re-granted to participating local food pantries twice a month.”

Tax-deductible donations to the Community Harvest Fund can be made online at www.greaterpike.org/fund_list Scroll down to the fund name for the link.