Beaver County News

HARRISBURG – Celebrating the 14th opening season of the Capitol Hunger Garden, Sen. Elder Vogel, Jr. (R-47) and Rep. Emily Kinkead (D-20), co-chairs of the Hunger Caucus, gathered at the Capitol Hunger Garden to share the important role the garden plays to those in need in the Harrisburg area. In addition to Vogel and Kinkead, remarks were also offered by Tammy Linn, executive director for the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association; Peter Flynn, president of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association; Joe Arthur, CEO of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank; and Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11), minority chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

“Over the last 14 years, the Capitol Hunger Garden has provided vast amounts of healthy herbs and vegetables that are used to help nourish those who are in the greatest need in Harrisburg – an operation that we hope to continue for years to come,” said Vogel. “I want to thank the Department of General Services, the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, the Penn State Master Gardeners, the Downtown Daily Bread, and all the volunteers who help make this garden possible each season."

“Every year the Capitol Hunger Garden provides hundreds of pounds of fresh produce to our neighbors at Downtown Daily Bread, who do amazing work to support homeless individuals in Harrisburg,” said Kinkead. “As co-chair of the Legislative Hunger Caucus, I’m proud to play an active role in combating food insecurity and eager to continue pursuing policy changes beyond this garden to end hunger in Pennsylvania.”

Last year’s Hunger Garden bounty yielded a total of over 830 pounds of produce which consisted of many different vegetables and herbs including tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, bush beans, swiss chard, dill, rosemary, thyme, pole beans, onions, and various assortments of peppers.

Vogel added, “Hunger does not just affect those just in Harrisburg – it affects over 1.2 million Pennsylvanians. Through the unified efforts of our bipartisan Senate/House Legislative Hunger Caucus we continue to raise awareness about the impacts of hunger in our Commonwealth.”

Plants for this year’s garden were supplied by the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association and volunteers from the Penn State Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners will assist with maintaining the garden throughout the summer until the season ends in early October. Established in 2008, the legislative Hunger Caucus seeks to raise awareness for hunger. The most visible of this caucus’s initiatives is the Capitol Hunger Garden, which is a joint effort of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. To watch the full Hunger Garden opening ceremony, click here.

CONTACT: Abby Chiumento, 717-787-3076 (Sen. Elder Vogel, Jr.) Aaron Troutman, 717-480-9166 (Rep. Emily Kinkead)