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Elk County

A Stewartson, PA driver escaped injury in a one-vehicle accident last Thursday in Ridgway Township. State police said Jonilee Czech was going north on Montmorenci Road when she fell asleep at the wheel of her 2005 GMC Envoy a little after 8:00 am. The SUV struck an embankment and rolled over, then hoit a utility pole and rolled back onto its wheels. While Czeck  was outside the car, it caught fire and was ablaze until extinguished by the fire department.

State police at Ridgway didn’t release the name of the suspect but say they arrested an 18 St. Marys resident for criminal mischief. Authorities claim the suspect damaged property at the Weedville Wesleyan Church on March 23.

Tioga County

Mansfield state police have charged a 25 year old Millerton man for violating a protection from abuse order. Troopers claim the suspect, whose name they withheld, violated the PFA filed on behalf of a 24 year old Arnot, PA woman by sending her letters.

When troopers interviewed a 21 year old Millerton driver after stopping  to assist him on Route 549 in Jackson Township on February 24 they found he had been driving his 2012 Subaru under the influence of alcohol.

Statetwide

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding is inviting  qualified food banks, pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens that offer emergency food assistance to apply for $1.6 million in The Emergency Food Assistance (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency Grants.

The grants aim to expand access to emergency food assistance in isolated or underserved rural or low-income communities.

Grants are available to organizations distributing TEFAP through contracts with the state, county, or a county-designated Lead Agency. Nonprofits that provide food assistance and are interested in becoming TEFAP distribution agencies can contact their county Lead Agency to learn more.

Funded projects may include expanded cold storage, warehouse space and equipment, delivery vehicles for food distribution, and materials to publicize availabilty of TEFAP foods.

Full grant are published in the April 1 edition of the PA Bulletin.

Apply online through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Single Electronic Application. Applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Friday, May 26, 2023.

According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap, in 2022, more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians, or 8.9% of everyone in the state, and 13% of our children, may not know the source of their next meal. Tackling food insecurity through partnerships among state and federal agencies, and Pennsylvania’s charitable food system is a top priority of the Shapiro Administration, building on past administrations’ work detailed in the 2022 Governor’s Food Security Partnership report.

Governor Shapiro has proposed:

   New state investment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), raising the minimum monthly benefit by 50 percent to help families, and the state’s food banks, pantries and soup kitchens stressed by recently discontinued federal emergency benefits,

    A $2 million investment in the Fresh Food Financing Initiative that will improve access to PA-grown, processed, and produced foods, including fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products, and meat products in communities of color and other underserved areas,

    $4.5 million invested in the department’s Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) which reimburses Pennsylvania producers for the cost of harvesting, processing, packaging and transporting donations of surplus foods, reducing food waste and getting safe, wholesome foods to families in need,

    $20 million to fund the State Food Purchase Program, the largest program of its kind in the nation, providing state funds toward emergency food assistance for low income Pennsylvanians,

    Free school breakfast for every child in Pennsylvania public schools,

    And a comprehensive array of initiatives and programs to reduce hunger in Pennsylvania and unite communities in addressing our greatest challenges.

Find foodbanks, pantries and other resources in your area, plus information on food insecurity and what you can do to help or find help at agriculture.pa.gov/foodsecurity.