WellSpan, Geisinger grants help Lewisburg Food Hub fight hunger

A Lewisburg food pantry that has already moved more than 200,000 pounds of food across three counties got new grant support from WellSpan Health and Geisinger, a boost aimed at keeping a growing anti-hunger network moving for Union County families who cannot afford to wait until a crisis hits.

The Food Hub, run by Union-Snyder Community Action Agency out of The Miller Center for Recreation and Wellness’s Cornerstone Kitchen, has become a central link between people facing shortages and the food already being gathered by farms, grocery stores, community donors and food drives. Since opening in 2021, it has served Union, Snyder and Northumberland counties through direct pantry service, monthly mobile food boxes and redistribution to partner agencies.

The scale of the need remains stark. Feeding America estimates that 5,200 people in Union County, or 12.2% of the population, were food insecure in 2023, with an annual food budget shortfall of about $3.624 million. State food security reporting says more than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians experience food insecurity, and rural counties remain among the hardest hit. For Union County, that means the Food Hub is not just storing groceries, it is helping keep food moving into homes, pantries and programs that residents already rely on.

Rachel Herman, the food security manager for Union-Snyder Community Action Agency, said the grant support will allow the organization to keep expanding access to healthy food while strengthening the network of local programs serving food-insecure neighbors. The hub’s redistributive role has been central to that effort, with food sent onward to more than 40 regional pantries and community programs. A Miller Center post said the hub helps supply 48 food access programs, underscoring how one site in Lewisburg has become a broader distribution point for the region.

The Miller Center’s cold storage, including walk-in refrigeration and freezers, helps staff and volunteers safely hold produce and other goods before they go back out into the community. The hub also offers educational programming, including Dining with Diabetes with Penn State Extension, a class for adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes and their families that focuses on healthy food choices and diabetes management.

Starting May 28, the Food Hub will add a free Pop-Up Produce Stand on Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. in the center’s café space, with no registration, income limits or geographic restrictions. For a county where food insecurity already touches thousands of residents, the new support from WellSpan and Geisinger helps reinforce a local safety net that has been building since the Miller Center marked its fifth anniversary in December 2024.