Northwestern Pa. farmers willing to donate food, but most already shipped out

WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP – As the food crisis unfolds for many, local farmers donating their bounty now faces a big obstacle.

“Almost everything has already been harvested and shipped out,’’ Jeanice Ferris Britvich, owner of Ferris Farm Produce in Wilmington Township said of their ability to help food needs as SNAP benefits ran out at the end of last month.

There’s just a little produce hanging around local farms now, such as cabbage, pumpkins, peppers and apples, Britvich said.

Local farms such as Ferris Farm have always been generous to local food banks and pantries. But now is way past harvest for most produce.

“If this had happened in June, we’d be in a much better position to help,’’ she said.

Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as Food Stamps,