CCFB News – June 2025
CCFB Summer Meals Program
June marks the start of summer vacation, which means thousands of children in Chester County lose access to free or reduced-price school meals. Summer is one of the hungriest times of year for kids.
This year, the Food Bank is responding to an increasing demand by preparing a record 6,000 Summer Boxes—ensuring that children facing food insecurity have access to essential nutrition during the months when school meal programs are unavailable. The boxes, which are distributed fromJune to August, provide much-needed relief to families struggling to feed their children during the break.
This Summer, help ensure kids can enjoy the season without the worry of where they’ll find lunch. Just $2.25 provides a fresh, nutritious meal, and $28 fills a grocery box with healthy, kid-friendly foods. Your support ensures children in our community experience a Summer filled with relaxation—not concern—so they can get back to simply being kids! Donate today!
To learn more about our Summer Meals Program, read our latest article!
For more information on how to receive assistance or support the Food Bank’s mission, visit our website: chestercountyfoodbank.org or contact us directly at 610-873-6000 or email contact@chestercountyfoodbank.org
CCFB Team Spotlight: Food Access
We love our CCFB staff! This June for our monthly CCFB Team Spotlights, we’re highlighting our incredible Food Access Team!
Headed by Senior Director of Food Access & Education Catie Mahoney, and comprising of Senior Manager of Food Access & Education Kale Doughty, Community Food Access Manager Jade Menow, Field Operator David Wilder, PCH, Community Food Educator Erika Mendez, Food Access Associate Ashley Hocking, Warehouse Inventory Associate Nicola Murray, and Nutrition Outreach Coordinator Abigail Perry, CCFB’s Food Access Team is dedicated to helping ensure access to nutritious and familiar food to the Chester County community through providing quality access to much-needed food and nutritional education for Chester County neighbors.
Some of the many incredible services provided by our Food Access team include:
- Work together with our local farm partners Springton Manor Farm and Two Gander Farm to provide nutritional wellness and garden education to Chester County residents
- Providing youth and adult nutrition education programs throughout Chester County through their Eat Fresh cooking classes, Seed to Supper Gardening classes, and their Kids Gardening and Cooking Programs
- Providing food-oriented health solutions through CCFB’s Fruit & Veggie Prescription program
- Providing fresh produce directly to Chester County residents through CCFB’s Fresh2You Mobile Market
- Procuring food through purchasing, donations, and government contracts and prioritizing fresh fruits and vegetables
“I am incredibly grateful for the entire Food Access Team, because they all truly embody our mission to mobilize and educate the community to ensure access to nutritious and familiar food. The community is positively impacted every single day by the work our team does because we go beyond just providing food access. We take great pride in our holistic 3-pronged approach to food insecurity; first providing the food to individuals, then ensuring they are educated about the food and nutritional information and finally providing resources to ensure they are supported.” – Catie Mahoney.
Our Food Access Team are rockstars, and we are so grateful for all their efforts to enhance and accommodate the growth of our education and wellness programs in order to develop long-term solutions for addressing the root causes of food insecurity. Thank you, team!
To learn more about the great work our Food Access team does, follow the link below!
CCFB Receives Two Plant Grants
Recently, CCFB received a grant from the Hardy Plant Society to procure perennial fruit shrubs and trees which we distributed to members of our Garden Partner program and used for our education hub at Springton Manor Farm.
We offered a selection of blueberries, figs, elderberries, goji berries, and persimmon to our partners, and we planted native paw paws at Springton Manor Farm.
CCFB was also given a second grant from the Xerces Society Pollinator Habitat Kit program; receiving a large kit which is being used to build up habitats for pollinators and beneficial insects around our production field at Springton Manor Farm.
This will serve as an educational resource for the community and strengthen our environmental stewardship to continue growing nutritious food in a sustainable way.
We are so grateful to the Hardy Plant Society and the Xerces Society for their generosity and support in helping better equip us to care for our local plant life and pollinators!
CCFB’s Golden Volunteers
Our CCFB volunteers are golden! Literally!
Congratulations to our newest Golden Volunteers who have completed their first 50 hours of volunteer service at the Chester County Food Bank!
⭐Robin Thurm
⭐Evan Hudson
⭐Jack Steers
⭐Maryann Stone
⭐John Bertone
⭐Becky Weaver
We are so grateful to each and every one of you for your dedication to helping us support our Chester County neighbors struggling with food insecurity. Every helping hand counts, and we couldn’t do it without you!
Looking for an easier way to enjoy dinner? Try Simple Suppers—delicious, nutritious, and affordable frozen meals made from scratch in the Chester County Food Bank’s licensed commercial kitchen. Prepared by professional chefs, these seasonal “heat & eat” meals are only $6 each. Proceeds from every purchase help provide meals to those in our community experiencing food insecurity.
We appreciate your support—every meal you purchase contributes to our mission of mobilizing and educating the community to ensure equitable access to nutritious and familiar food.
If you have questions, email us at simplesuppers@chestercountyfoodbank.org.
Thank you for choosing Chester County Food Bank’s Simple Suppers!
Summer Fresh2You Mobile Market
SUMMER IS HERE! Our summer Fresh2You Mobile Market season started June 3, 2025!
Payment is accepted in the form of cash, card, fruit and veggie prescriptions, and Veggie Bucks. Customers have until June 30, 2025 to use last years’ Veggie Bucks.
Visit our website to see our weekly Mobile Market schedule!
We know that experiencing food insecurity can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to face it alone.
Together with our incredible community partners, we are here to provide support and resources to anyone in need.
CCFB, including our Fresh2You Mobile Market at the Lighthouse Youth Center in Oxford and Kennett Area YMCA, will be closed on July 4th in recognition of the holiday.
If you are in need of assistance during this time, please call 211, or visit us at our website at https://chestercountyfoodbank.org/find-help/food-finder/
