Food insecurity crisis detailed during House Majority Policy hearing
Food insecurity higher now than during pandemic, testifiers say
Rep. Ryan Bizzarro August 19, 2025 | 4:11 PM
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 19 – Inflation and the increasing costs of groceries, combined with cuts in federal money for valuable programs that address hunger, means many Pennsylvanians are experiencing hunger and food insecurity. The House Majority Policy Committee convened a hearing Tuesday afternoon, hosted by Rep. Amen Brown (D-Phila.), to discuss hunger and what can be done to address the ongoing issue.
“This issue isn’t just about policy, it’s about people. It’s about the parents who work two jobs to afford groceries, about grandparents who skip meals so their grandchildren won’t be hungry. Food is more than sustenance—it’s dignity, it’s stability, it’s community,” said Rep. Brown. “I look forward to working on real solutions to make sure that every family has what they need, and no child grows up wondering if they will go to bed hungry.”
Tuesday’s hearing featured testimony from various local food banks and food assistance programs that serve the Philadelphia area and surrounding counties. Testifiers detailed food insecurity as a crisis in Pennsylvania, telling Committee members that food insecurity is higher now than during the pandemic.
According to George Matysik, Executive Director of the Share Food Program, one in five adults in the five-county southeast region experiences food insecurity and one in three children don’t have enough to eat. He adds that food banks are being met with steadily increasing numbers of people experiencing hunger while grappling with federal funding cuts of millions of dollars.
Many of these cuts are coming through the recently passed federal budget reconciliation bill, which makes historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. For every one meal that a food bank provides, SNAP provides nine. But rather than supporting what’s considered the best defense against hunger, the federal government cut the program by 20%. According to Feeding America, these SNAP cuts will take away nearly 400 million meals per year from Pennsylvanians.
“People on the front line are telling us that there’s a hunger crisis in Pennsylvania, and it will be made worse by the funding cuts in Washington,” said House Majority Policy Chairman Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie). “House Democrats are committed to working on a solution and have passed legislation to support food assistance programs, but Senate Republicans have refused to act. If not now, when?”
Testifiers at Tuesday’s hearing includes George Matysik, Executive Director of the Share Food Program; Vincent Schiavone, Chair and CEO of Caring For Friends; Loree Jones Brown, CEO of Philabundance Food Bank. Additionally, several area residents who are facing food insecurity testified at the hearing and shared their story. Submitted testimony for the hearing can be found here.
Tuesday’s hearing can be viewed here.
Information about this hearing and other House Democratic Policy Committee hearings can be found at pahouse.com/policy.