Helping Harvest

08/29/2026

It’s almost September which means it’s almost ! 🧡💪

In Berks and Schuylkill counties alone, more than 80,000 of our neighbors — including nearly 25,000 children — face food insecurity.

All month, we'll be shining a light on hunger and sharing ways YOU can help. Stay tuned for all things related! 👀

Want to take action RIGHT NOW? Visit helpingharvest.org to donate, volunteer, or find food near you.

08/28/2026

We had another Healthy Sprouts distribution this afternoon at 16th & Haak Elementary School in Reading!

It was a HOT one, but our amazing staff and volunteers didn’t let the heat stop us. 💪☀️ We were able to share fresh, nutritious corn with the students, families, teachers and administrators at the school, as well as with neighbors in the surrounding community. That’s literally how much corn we have! 🙌🌽

Thanks so much to everyone who helped make today’s distribution happen — especially the staff and volunteers who spent the afternoon giving away corn and making sure this fresh produce made its way into the hands of our community.

Healthy Sprouts is all about helping children and families access good, nutritious food, and we’re proud to keep showing up — even on the really hot days!

08/28/2026

Your grocery run can help fight hunger. No, really! 🛒

If you shop at Redner's Warehouse Markets, you're already one step closer to helping feed your neighbors in Berks and Schuylkill counties — and it won't cost you a single extra cent.

Here's how it works:
➡️ Stop by customer service at any Redner's location and grab a rewards card. (Bonus: it saves you money on gas and groceries too.)
➡️ Shop like you normally would and save your receipts.
➡️ Drop your receipts off at our warehouse (117 Morgan Dr., Reading PA 19608), at the Community Kitchen (229 Washington St., Reading PA 19601), or mail it to us at the Morgan Dr. address.

That's it. Redner's donates 1% of every dollar on those receipts back to us to help fight hunger right here in our community.

The last batch we submitted? Over $31,000 in receipts. 🙌

08/27/2026

Healthy Sprouts is BACK for the school year! 🌽

This afternoon, we headed to Lauers Park Elementary School in Reading and it felt so good to be back.

If you've been following along over the last few weeks, you know we've been gratefully swimming in corn and string beans from IHartHarvest, Inc. - The Potato Project. Our volunteers have been busy — bagging corn yesterday and this morning — and this afternoon we got to see all that hard work pay off, getting fresh, nutritious produce directly into the hands of kids and families in our community.

Ensuring children have access to good food during their peak developmental years is at the heart of everything we do. Healthy Sprouts is one of the ways we put that into practice, and we're so proud to be back at it.

One fun detail from today: our driver, Dave — pictured handing out corn — actually attended Lauers Park Elementary as a kid. Full circle. 🙌

Check out the photos from today's distribution and our volunteers putting in the work behind the scenes. 📸

08/27/2026

You're Invited! 🎉

Join us for the fall Celebration of Community & Hope — Berks County on Thursday, October 1, 2026!

Festivities begin at 5:00 PM at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading (701 Penn Street, Reading, PA).

This special evening brings our community together to celebrate the progress we're making in the fight against hunger in Berks County — and we'd love for you to be part of it. Joining us as community partners are local restaurants who will be providing menu items throughout the evening. We're grateful for every table, every dish, and every person who shows up for our neighbors.

Grab your tickets now at https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/helping-harvest/berksevent

08/26/2026

Big shoutout to our FedEx volunteers! 🧡

As part of their FedEx Cares program, they packed meals for our Meals on Wheels Program — and those meals are officially out in the community! Fresh from our Community Kitchen, every meal is nutritious, delicious, and made with love.

Thank you to Berks County Area Agency on Aging and Berks Encore for making this partnership possible.

08/25/2026

Thank you to the Reading Eagle for sharing our story! This year, Helping Harvest distributed over 12 million pounds of food across Berks and Schuylkill counties — a record we're incredibly proud of, and one that wouldn't be possible without our volunteers, donors, and partners who show up every day. Together we can end hunger! 🧡

Food bank officials aren’t expecting demand to subside.

08/25/2026

🌞 AUGUST VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: RICK🌞

After two years, Rick has found himself only a hop, skip and a jump away from accumulating over 500 volunteer hours! After getting bored in retirement, he saw Helping Harvest was in need of volunteers and decided to give it a try. Now, averaging anywhere from 3-4 shifts a week, Rick is a seasoned professional!

You can usually find him at the Community Kitchen, the warehouse, off-site at Mobile Markets or delivering Senior Boxes at high-rises! Right now, if he had to choose, his favorite activity would probably be driving for Meals on Wheels or delivering for the Weekender Program during the school year.

“Giving my time and skills to help this cause means a lot to me. Moreso, it means a great deal to so many who worry about where their next meal is coming from," he said.

When he’s not volunteering, you can find Rick riding his 50-year-old Schwinn bike, or reading fictional thrillers. Whenever he decides to take a “vacation”- he’d like to take a road-trip across the USA, or try tandem skydiving!

Thank you, Rick — we couldn't do what we do without you!

To join Rick and learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit https://helpingharvest.org/volunteer/ 🤝

08/24/2026

Last week, our friends at IHartHarvest, Inc. - The Potato Project delivered freshly harvested sweet corn straight to Helping Harvest. Earlier this week, volunteers showed up to bag every last bit of it — 24,662 pounds total, about 36 gaylords — now headed to our agency network and Mobile Markets across Berks and Schuylkill Counties. 🌽

If you caught our post about the string beans last week — you already knew more was coming! Walt planted 8 acres each of sweet corn, string beans, and potatoes this year. More beans and corn are still on the way, and the potatoes haven't even been touched yet. This is just the start!

Thank you to IHart Harvest for growing food for our neighbors, and to every volunteer who showed up this week — we could not do this without you!

08/21/2026

Happy ! 🧡

Through Helping Harvest's Senior Food Box Program, more than 2,000 low-income seniors in Berks and Schuylkill counties receive a monthly box of nutritious food. The program also includes PA Senior Food Box distribution sites throughout our service area.

If you or someone you know could benefit from these services, we're here to help. Contact our Senior Services and Referral Manager, Lori Lowery, at 610-926-5802 x203 or [email protected], or visit helpingharvest.org to learn more.