Helping Harvest Board President Jeanne Boyer Porter, PA Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, and Helping Harvest President Jay Worrall
On October 9, Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank held its 3rd annual Celebration of Community and Hope in Berks County at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading.
The event raised funds for Helping Harvest in support of its mission to feed neighbors experiencing hunger. Sponsors include The Giant Company, Tompkins Community Bank, Weik Capital Management and over 50 additional Berks County sponsors.
Speakers included Russell Redding, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Agriculture; Jay Worrall, President of Helping Harvest; Jess Umbenhauer, Chief Operating Officer of Helping Harvest; Jeanne Boyer Porter, Chair of the Helping Harvest Board of Directors; and Pastor Brian Guzman of Iglesia Cristiana Del Rey in Reading, who provided the invocation.
The program also included messages on the impact of the Helping Harvest Community Kitchen, opened in downtown Reading in April 2025, and a tribute to Helping Harvest’s dedicated volunteers and staff. The evening included a display of artwork in partnership with Olivet Boys & Girls Club.
In his remarks, Secretary Redding said, “Berks County is an extraordinary place…where the harvest meets human hands and is transformed into human meals to meet the hunger.”
He added “Food is more than nourishment. It is a pathway to security…a kitchen like you have [at Helping Harvest] reminds us of that impact.”
In his speech, Worrall cited the challenging climate for food banks due to recent funding cuts and budget impasses, “[There] are substantial, some might say historic challenges to the work that we do. But I would like to share with you the reasons I am so optimistic about the future of our fight to end hunger in Berks and Schuylkill Counties.”
Worrall went on to outline the ways that Helping Harvest is meeting the rising need for food in Berks & Schuylkill counties, despite these challenges. Central to those approaches is the opening and early impact of the Community Kitchen.
Worrall concluded with a thank you to those in the room and a sentiment of continued hope, “I would like to thank all of you in this room who support Helping Harvest’s work providing food to those in need in our community. Because of your commitment, children will go to bed tonight with full bellies rather than going hungry. Because of your generosity, grandparents are not forced to choose between buying medicine or buying food. Because of your kindness, toddlers are entering preschool prepared to learn. Hunger is a solvable problem. It really is. Let’s work together to make sure no child, no parent, no senior—no one—goes hungry in Berks and Schuylkill County.”
Check out more photos from the event.