American Heart Association

American Heart Association

From humble beginnings, the American Heart Association has grown into the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. A shared focus on cardiovascular health unites our more than 40 million volunteers and supporters as well as our more than 2,800 employees. Learn more about our impact over time.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer worldwide, and stroke ranks second globally. Even when those conditions don’t result in death, they cause disability and diminish quality of life. We want to see a world free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Our size and scope let us have real impact. We have invested more than $4.5 billion in research, more than any U.S. nonprofit organization. Learn more about our life-changing funded research breakthroughs.

Blue Mountain Academy Farm

BMA Farm

In 2013 Blue Mountain Academy restarted its agriculture program with a couple of used greenhouses and a small vegetable garden.  Today we offer our students a wide variety of agricultural experiences including the following:

• Beekeeping
• Caring for laying hens
• Food preservation
• Green housing, producing both plants and vegetables
• Growing herbs
• Hay production
• Large and small fruit production
• Large scale grain production
• Maple tree tapping
• Processing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes
• Vegetable gardening
• Vending at Farmers’ Markets

Caring Cupboard

Caring Cupboard

The Caring Cupboard has its roots in the program ministry of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren (PCOB), when in 2001, children at the church felt that food should be available to transients. It blossomed into a program for not just transients but also members of the church who were in need.

In the late summer of 2004, it was felt that the program should be expanded to help those in the community and become a ministry of the then Palmyra Area Cooperating Churches, now Palmyra – A Caring Community (PACC). A pilot program to see if there was a need for a community food program and if that program would be sustained by the community was launched. The Outreach Team of the PCOB was empowered with the responsibility of organizing and running the food bank which immediately became a food pantry.

Central PA Food Bank

Central PA Food Bank

The Central PA Food Bank is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing hunger in 27 counties across central Pennsylvania. By working with more than 1,000 local agencies and programs, we serve more than 200,000 people in need each month through our two Healthy Food Hubs, located in Harrisburg and Williamsport.

Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank

Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank

The mission of Helping Harvest is to feed the hungry by acquiring and distributing food to people in need within the Berks and Schuykill counties, PA

Penn St. Farmer’s Market

Penn St. Farmer’s Market

The Penn St. Farmer’s Market is an open-air, seasonal farmers market in the heart of downtown Reading, PA. The Market features local farm produce, fresh meats, baked goods, locally owned restaurants and food trucks, and more! The Greater Reading Chamber Alliance and the Market Team are committed to hosting a variety of family and nutritional programs in partnership with The Food Trust, featuring local musicians, kids crafts, and highlighting community resources.

We aim to:

• Promote access to healthy and locally-sourced food in the City of Reading.
• Cultivate a thriving seasonal event through free entertainment, education, and community programming to engage all community members.
• Contribute to downtown Reading revitalization by transforming public space into a vibrant destination on a weekly basis.

The Issue:

In 2013 a Food Assessment for the City of Reading was conducted to determine the extent of food access and insecurity. The Assessment found that there are fewer grocery store establishments per 100,000 people than the rest of the State and Country. To address access to healthy, fresh foods it is critical to continue to strengthen and promote the farmers’ market network in the City of Reading. As the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related illnesses rise, particularly concentrated in low-income urban and rural communities, improving the food environment can have a long-lasting impact on community health.

The Solution:

Enter the Penn Street Market, where local, healthy, and fresh foods are important pillars of the downtown Reading Market. Every Thursday in June through September from 10 AM to 2 PM the community can come together to purchase fresh local fruits, vegetables, meats, and other healthy goods.

A central feature of the Penn Street Market are the weekly SNAP nutrition education programming and demonstrations developed by The Food Trust of Philadelphia – Reading, PA team. The educational demonstrations are interactive and bi-lingual – offering an opportunity for everyone to learn more about healthy food choices and ingredients. All participants walk away with a weekly recipe that features seasonal fruits and vegetables that can be purchased from various vendors at the Market.

The Penn Street Market is for everyone – the team loves to bring people together on a weekly basis on beautiful Penn Square (5th and Penn Streets) in the heart of downtown Reading.

The Market (at participating vendors) accepts SNAP (food stamps), WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers, and Berks Farm Bucks and provide helpful nutrition information to ensure that fresh, local foods are available to everyone.

The Food Trust

The Food Trust

The Food Trust  is a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food and information to make healthy decisions. Headquartered in Philadelphia, The Food Trust works with neighborhoods, schools, grocers, farmers and policymakers in the city and across the country to develop a comprehensive approach to improved food access that combines nutrition education and greater availability of affordable, healthy food.

Since 1992, The Food Trust has been working to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food and information to make healthy decisions.

The Food Trust’s comprehensive approach includes improving food environments and teaching nutrition education in schools; working with corner store owners to increase healthy offerings and helping customers make healthier choices; managing farmers markets in communities that lack access to affordable produce; and encouraging grocery store development in underserved communities.

“Connecting with REACH to conduct a needs assessment with Corner Stores in the City of Reading, aim to increase the variety, and quality of fresh produce available in our communities.”

Alex Roche
Project Manager – Adult Education, Reading Team

Jenn Ramirezv
Project Coordinator – Healthy Corner Store Initiative

Wholesome Wave

 Wholesome Wave

 Wholesome Wave is fighting nutrition insecurity across the US by developing and deploying programs, platforms, and seed funding to help a network of community-based organizations address the lack of affordability and access to healthy food. We share outcomes of this work to successfully advocate for food and health systems change

When poverty and hunger strike, it’s not just about getting more food, it’s about getting the right food. Addressing food insecurity overshadows the real problem: nutrition insecurity. Nutrition insecurity leads to the diet-related conditions that are driving the highest rates of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Wholesome Wave was built to solve nutrition insecurity.

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