“Observed since 2008, September is Hunger Action Month. This month is dedicated to raising awareness and taking action against hunger in communities across the nation,” according to feedingpa.org/hunger-in-pa.

There’s plenty of food in Pennsylvania, but 1.7 million Pennsylvanians still face food insecurity. Below are four food misconceptions, according to feedingpa.org/hunger-in-pa.

1: Myth — Hunger is a city problem. Fact — Most Pennsylvanians who experience food insecurity live in cities, but that’s because cities have more people overall. While our rural areas have fewer people, a higher percentage of them are food insecure. In fact, the 20 counties with the highest levels of food insecurity in Pennsylvania are predominantly rural.

2: Myth — Hunger exists because there is not enough food to go around. Fact — This couldn’t be further from the truth. Each year, 120 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States. Pennsylvania’s farms are some of the largest producers of fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy in the country. The problem isn’t food; it’s access to food.

3: Myth — Hunger mostly affects the unhoused and unemployed. Fact — Many people who struggle with food insecurity have permanent housing and steady employment. While they may not be experiencing extreme poverty, factors like inflation, health care costs and low wages make it hard for many working Pennsylvanians to put food on the table.

4: Myth — Food insecurity is a permanent state. Fact — Many people who use food pantries do so for a short period of time. They may have lost their job or been faced with an unexpected expense. For many Pennsylvanians, food pantries are a temporary safety net while they work to restabilize their financial situation.

To address the four items mentioned above, I’ll talk next about experiences in our Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative Food Pantry.

• More low-income Whitehall-Coplay School District residents are facing food insecurity and attending our pantry. In 2021, we registered 393 total households. Cumulative in four years, we have registered more than 1,000 households.

• There is a lot of wasted food in the United States. Yes, this is true.

• Many of our guests are the working poor. Several work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Rents are high.

• Food insecurity is not a permanent state. We have lost guests who no longer need help from the pantry food. These guests were laid off and obtained a new job or received new training and found a new job. Registered guests do not all come monthly. When our guests need food, they schedule an appointment.

These are the average numbers from our WCHI attendance records from January through August 2025. We served 300 households, consisting of 395 children, 522 adults and 233 seniors, for an average total of 1,150 served people for the eight months. Our highest month was March, with 1,341 people served, and our lowest month was August, which is typical due to vacations, with 942 people served.