Aimet Blanco stood staring at the items in front of her: a small plastic cup filled with kale salad in her right hand and a reusable shopping bag dangling from her wrist.
First she picked out some lemons, and then, with a smile, selected four small tomatoes on sale for $2. Blanco was pleased with her purchase, admitting that sometimes its hard to find similar items at similar prices in shops across Reading.
“It’s hard because in all the markets the fresh food is more expensive than the other foods,” she said. “You go to McDonalds with $5 and you can buy everything.”
Finding healthy food is important to Blanco. She said she’s trying to lose weight, so getting access to fresh and nutritious items — like the sample of kale salad that she described as really good — is a big deal.
And showing people that those kinds of food are available is what Wednesday was all about.
Blanco did her shopping inside the Daniel Torres Hispanic Center, which was hosting a special event to recognize World Hunger Day. Visitors were provided with a hot meal — rice with corn, chicken fajitas and a mix of broccoli, lettuce and green beans — food to take home and a chance to purchase fresh produce from local growers using vouchers provided by the nonprofit organization The Food Trust.
“For us, World Hunger Day is about raising awareness about the real issue of food insecurity,” said Michael Toledo, CEO of the center at 25 N. Second St. “We’ve really taken the position that no one should go hungry. We just want the community to know the importance of healthy, nutritious eating.”
Toledo said the center has seen up close the impact of food insecurity on the people of Reading. The organization has long provided free meals to those in need but has seen that task explode over the past five years, he said.
“Pre-pandemic, we were providing a couple of hundred meals a day for seniors,” he said. “Now, we’re serving over 3,000 meals a day for everyone from prekindergartners to seniors.”
But those meals alone aren’t able to fully address the need in the community, Toledo said. Which is why the center has tried to operate as a convener, helping to make connections with others offering help.
And that was a big part of what was going on Wednesday.
The Hispanic Center partnered with several local organizations and food producers to hold the World Hunger Day event, including the GoggleWorks Center for the , Penn State Health and Alvernia University’s student-run Bog Turtle Creek Farm.
“We’re trying to break down barriers of access when it comes to healthy and nutritious food,” Toledo said.
Logan Buch said breaking down those barriers is his goal, as well.
Buch was one of several Alvernia students to take part in the event, representing the university’s student-run farm and selling organic produce.
“Honestly, some people don’t have access to this,” he said, gesturing toward the tomatoes and lettuce displayed on a table in front of him. “And our prices are more affordable, you can’t find organic produce for prices like this.”
Turtle Bog Creek Farm tries to make its produce available to as many people in Reading as possible, Buch said, setting up at special events and operating a stand at the Penn Street Farmers Market.
Of course, if people aren’t familiar with the organic products the farm sells they won’t be likely to benefit from them. That’s something The Food Trust is trying to address.
Representatives from the organization were on hand providing lessons on nutrition and how to shop at a farmers market. They also provided visitors with vouchers to buy fresh produce and samples of a kale salad made with Parmesan cheese, lemon juice olive oil and garlic.
“On a day like today, World Hunger Day, we want to show that healthy food is accessible,” said Kara Miller, project coordinator for the organization.
