Gov. Tom Wolf presented his 2018-19 General Fund budget proposal today. The election year spending plan avoids broad-based tax increases while boosting spending by about $1 billion, or 3 percent, to $33 billion for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposed budget maintains current funding levels for the State Food Purchase Program and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS). However, even with these current levels of funding, hunger still impacts far too ma

Your role as an anti-hunger advocate just got a little bit tougher --- even as it became all that more important. In case you missed the news this week, Pennsylvania state government is heading into the 2017 budget season with its biggest revenue shortfall since the recession, according to the Independent Fiscal Office. According to the IFO report issued on Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf the General Assembly probably will have to find ways to close a budget hole approaching $1.5 bill

Pennsylvania’s budget process is moving along. On Tuesday, April 4, the House of Representatives passed its version of the 2017-18 General Fund budget. Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled his proposed spending plan on Feb. 7. Both the governor’s proposal and the House version keep funding flat for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS). The two budgets differ in many respects. At $31.52 billion, the House measure (H.B. 218) spends less t

Gov. Tom Wolf today unveiled his proposed budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year. The spending plan keeps funding flat for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS). The SFPP line item totals $19.188 million, with $1 million of that amount dedicated for PASS. Funding for PASS is incorporated into the SFPP line item and does not have a line item of its own, something we continue to push for, since each program is unique. Over the la

Last month, the state’s 2015-16 budget impasse finally came to an end --- more than nine months after it started. But there was little time to celebrate. As quickly as one budget debate ended, a new one began. Legislators and the governor now must begin in earnest to craft and finalize a 2016-17 budget. They have two months to do it. The state’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 each year, and May and June are the most critical months for finding consensus. Despite the

Hunger-Free Pennsylvania is working with other concerned organizations throughout our state to ask Governor Wolf to provide adequate funding for the State Food Purchase Program as he prepares his FY 2016-2017 budget for presentation to the General Assembly in February 2016. If you agree with the message below then take action by sending this message to Governor Wolf. We encourage you to also share this message with your colleagues and friends. Thank you for speaking out again

2014-2015 General Fund Budget Passage On Thursday, July 10, Gov. Tom Corbett finally signed the 2014-15 General Fund budget and accompanying appropriations bills. The legislature sent him the budget on June 30; the governor waited to sign it until today, hoping in the meantime that the legislature would take action on key issues he identified as priorities. On the last day to act before the budget became law without his signature, he enacted it while also exercising his lin

Hunger-Free Pennsylvania Executive Director Sheila Christopher has been volunteering or working for the organization almost as long as it has been around. Today, the association marks its 30th anniversary. In this piece, published by the Harrisburg Patriot-News, Sheila offers her perspective of where we were then and where we are today in terms of fighting hunger in our communities. Patriot News Here's how you can help nearly 2M hungry Pennsylvanians: Sheila Christopher May 2

Photo courtesy of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank In November, 1,240 hunger relief organizations, religious congregations, student groups, human service agencies and other charitable organizations signed a letter asking Gov. Tom Corbett to increase funding for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) to $21 million. In December and January, another 700 anti-hunger advocates sent e-mails directly to the governor’s office seeking the increase, and hundreds of others

Today, Governor Corbett's proposed budget was announced and effectively flat-funds SFPP at $17.338 million. If funding simply kept pace with food prices, the program would need $24.6 million just to break even. We fought for it. You may remember in November (read about it here), we hand-delivered a letter to Governor Corbett signed by 1,240 of Pennsylvania’s hunger relief organizations, religious congregations, student groups, human service agencies and other charitable organ

The House and Senate Agriculture committees have announced a compromise on the federal farm bill, potentially ending a two-plus-year fight over the enormously complex measure, which includes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, known better as “food stamps.” It’s hard to celebrate this legislation, when it includes a roughly $8 billion cut over 10 years to food-stamp funding, which is considered the most partisan issue in the 949-page bill. But

Members of Hunger-Free Pennsylvania were in Harrisburg today to hand-deliver a letter signed by 1,240 hunger relief organizations, religious congregations, student groups, human service agencies and other charitable organizations calling for increased funding for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP). (click here to read the letter) Nearly one in seven Pennsylvanians, or approximately 1.9 million residents, are struggling with hunger and food insecurity. Funding for SF