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For Immediate
Release
2/21/07
CONTACT:
PA
Senate Republican Communications
(717) 787-6725
Building a Vision for Rural Pennsylvania Kicks Off Listening Sessions
Philadelphia forum builds bridge between rural and urban regions
HARRISBURG -- The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee hosted the first listening
session in its Building a Vision for Rural Pennsylvania series
today, Committee Chairman Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster) said.
State Senator Shirley Kitchen (D-Philadelphia) hosted the public
session for her Committee colleagues at St. Joseph's Hospital in
Philadelphia, part of the North Philadelphia Health System.
"This morning, we heard a variety of perspectives about the way that
agriculture impacts Pennsylvanians," Brubaker said. "As we work to
build an agenda for our Committee, it will be important that we
incorporate both urban and rural viewpoints into a comprehensive
plan."
"I appreciate Senator Brubaker's willingness to hold this meeting
and start a dialogue between urban and rural communities," Kitchen
said. "This is historical in the urban area, and we need to
understand our environment and agriculture – rural and farming
regions are not the only ones affected by the decisions made by this
committee."
Members of
the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee heard testimony from
several local food groups about increasing the availability of and
access to affordable, nutritious food, including the SHARE Food
Program of PA, PhilAbundance and The Food Trust.
"Access to healthy food leads to healthy communities," said Steveanna Wynn with the SHARE Program.
Andrew Altman, Executive Director of the White Dog Café Foundation,
agreed, emphasizing the need to purchase locally grown foods,
thereby creating a stronger connection between farms and their
customers, which can include individuals, restaurants or hospitals.
"State
government must focus more on the storage, administration and
distribution of food that goes through the food banks," said Bill Clark,
Executive Director of PhilAbundance. "Just as you need hospitals and
doctors to distribute medicine, you must have a strong infrastructure
for distribution of food to the needy."
During the session, Phil Clemens announced that Hatfield Quality Meats
has pledged to donate 100,000 pounds of their products to PhilAbundance.
"On
behalf of myself and those who will benefit from this generous donation,
I want to take this opportunity to thank Hatfield for their wonderful
support over the years," Clark said.
Representatives of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and the dairy and swine
industries were also in attendance.
"We
cannot pick winners and losers in agriculture," said the Farm Bureau's
Gary Swan. "There is a need for all sizes and types of farms in
Pennsylvania, and we must work together."
"I want to thank
Senator Kitchen for inviting us to Philadelphia," Brubaker said. "We
received a lot of good information here, and I am looking forward to the
rest of the sessions we are planning to hold across the Commonwealth
over the next few months."
The next
listening session in the Building a Vision for Rural Pennsylvania series
will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on March 16 at Four Seasons Produce
in Ephrata.
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