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 Natural Awakenings Lancaster-Berks

Greater Berks Food Bank’s New Initiative Provides Fresh Foods

The Greater Berks Food Bank (GBFB) emphasizes the importance of nutrition by distributing fresh fruits and vegetables with their “Free, Fresh & Nutritious” distributions.  Member agencies are invited to stop by and pick up loads of fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy items to share with those they serve. This new initiative is part of the GBFB’s efforts to acquire, store and quickly distribute fresh and nutritious foods to hungry neighbors, and is a follow-up to their Produce 4 Kids program, which provides a bag of fresh produce to elementary school children in the city of Reading during the school year.

The GBFB seeks food donations from individuals, companies, schools and organizations holding food drives; food manufacturers, distributors and retail stores with surplus and imperfect, yet edible, product; and farmers, as well as home gardeners, with excess harvest.

The mission of the GBFB is to feed the hungry by acquiring and distributing food to people in need. In the first six months of 2015, the food bank acquired, stored and redistributed 300,000 more pounds of donated fresh, frozen and refrigerated foods as compared to the same six-month period in 2014. This is a direct result of the increased storage capacity of their new facility, which includes a larger freezer, cooler and special produce storage area.

Location: 117 Morgan Dr., Reading. For more information, call 610-926-5802, ext. 212, or visit BerksFoodBank.org.