Although Chester County may be the highest income county in Pennsylvania and ranked the 21st highest in the nation; we still suffer greatly from food insecure families and insufficient means to live by.1 In just this county alone we are seeing an assortment in our annual income from 63% of Coatesville residents earning less than $50,000 a year, to Charlestown, where over 90% of their residents are earning over $50,000 a year. With a population of nearly five-hundred-thousand individuals, nearly 6% are food insecure. That is approximately three-thousand people living in poverty.4 This means that the remaining counties in Pennsylvania have on average more than 2.3% of their population living below poverty level. With only 4.3% unemployed, compared to 6.2% for the entirety of America, it just goes to show how many more are suffering in our country.3 It’s hard to think that one in eight people living in Chester County are below the poverty line, needing assistants.
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Thankfully Chester County just so happens to be the home of the Chester County Food Bank, which sole mission is to “grow, purchase, process, store and distribute food, with a focus on nutrition and freshness, to a network of 30 cupboards and 61 meal sites.” (FB) Currently in Chester County, there are 13.7% of our households receiving Food Stamps.4 Due to Chester County’s diverse environment the Chester County Food Bank has had the opportunity to expand, out of its origin, in a garage, to a 36,000-square-foot facility with access to the counties rich 720 square miles of resources including farms, organizations and volunteers. (FB) The Food Bank has developed numerous programs to help supply fresh food to those that cannot access it, and educational programs to those unaware of their unhealthy conditions. At the Food Bank, they are facing three of Chester County’s biggest concerns when it comes to those in poverty. Food insecurity, lack of food access and an absence of nutrition education. The Food Bank has developed farming, raised vegetable beds, nutrition education, a soup kitchen and back program to address the needs of our hungry citizens. Through farming, the food bank has been able to grow more than twenty-five-thousand ponds of vegetables and over ninety-thousand pounds of corn annually. Through their gardening programs the Food Bank has developed over 620 raised beds at an assortment of community centers and school to give our citizens access to healthier options. By developing these programs the Food Bank is able to educate our younger population, on how to incorporate fresh produce and why that is important in their diet, so that we build a heathier future with less sever health concerns.(web) One organization addressing thus concerns is the Chester County Hospital. At this facility these professionals are addressing the medical deprivations food insecurity can cause such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Currently we stand at 20% of our community suffering from obesity and if we include overweight that jumps to 55%, 7% are dealing with diabetes, and 2,700 are dying as a result of heart disease.3 As it turns out, our number one cause of death, in Chester County, is heart disease brought on by tobacco use and inactivity. As a result of our high causes of death due to preventable conditions, the Chester County Hospital has dramatically been attempting to put a stop to these problems
Thankfully Chester County just so happens to be the home of the Chester County Food Bank, which sole mission is to “grow, purchase, process, store and distribute food, with a focus on nutrition and freshness, to a network of 30 cupboards and 61 meal sites.” (FB) Currently in Chester County, there are 13.7% of our households receiving Food Stamps.4 Due to Chester County’s diverse environment the Chester County Food Bank has had the opportunity to expand, out of its origin, in a garage, to a 36,000-square-foot facility with access to the counties rich 720 square miles of resources including farms, organizations and volunteers. (FB) The Food Bank has developed numerous programs to help supply fresh food to those that cannot access it, and educational programs to those unaware of their unhealthy conditions. At the Food Bank, they are facing three of Chester County’s biggest concerns when it comes to those in poverty. Food insecurity, lack of food access and an absence of nutrition education. The Food Bank has developed farming, raised vegetable beds, nutrition education, a soup kitchen and back program to address the needs of our hungry citizens. Through farming, the food bank has been able to grow more than twenty-five-thousand ponds of vegetables and over ninety-thousand pounds of corn annually. Through their gardening programs the Food Bank has developed over 620 raised beds at an assortment of community centers and school to give our citizens access to healthier options. By developing these programs the Food Bank is able to educate our younger population, on how to incorporate fresh produce and why that is important in their diet, so that we build a heathier future with less sever health concerns.(web) One organization addressing thus concerns is the Chester County Hospital. At this facility these professionals are addressing the medical deprivations food insecurity can cause such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Currently we stand at 20% of our community suffering from obesity and if we include overweight that jumps to 55%, 7% are dealing with diabetes, and 2,700 are dying as a result of heart disease.3 As it turns out, our number one cause of death, in Chester County, is heart disease brought on by tobacco use and inactivity. As a result of our high causes of death due to preventable conditions, the Chester County Hospital has dramatically been attempting to put a stop to these problems