Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Smith-Wade-El, Rivera embrace free online platform for food help

Smith-Wade-El, Rivera embrace free online platform for food help

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    May 22, 2026 | 12:33 PM

LANCASTER, May 22 – Building on their commitment to support food-insecure Lancastrians, state Reps. Ismail Smith Wade El’s and Nikki Rivera’s offices attended a training on an innovative online platform that is increasing food access and sustainability in the region.

The Lancaster County Food Exchange uses a mobile web application to allow procurement volunteers at food pantries and community kitchens in Lancaster County to communicate their surplus items and items they are requesting. Each posting is communicated to all participants via email or text twice daily.

The service is free and only requires an email address and a cell phone or laptop.

Terry Kile, founder and board chair of the non-profit, gave the training.

Lancaster County Food Exchange is used by 23 food pantry providers to feed Lancaster County’s estimated 50,000 residents who need more access to food.

“At a time when federal government budget cuts have significantly strained food pantries’ and food banks’ abilities to provide nourishment to the food-insecure, these critical organizations have had to become more agile to ensure that our neighbors in need have food to feed their families,” Smith-Wade-El said. “And this app makes that easy by enabling them to support one another’s needs by sharing surplus or requesting additional food with the click of a button.”

“There’s no better example of the phrase ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ than Lancaster County Food Exchange’s mobile app, which will help ensure that no food goes to waste and that no one goes hungry after over $1 billion in federal cuts,” Rivera said. “I am grateful for the compassion and ingenuity of Terry Kile and others at the Lancaster County Food Exchange who’ve used technology to create faster communication among our food banks and pantries so that they can better support one another and the people they serve.”

Federal cuts mean that food pantries and kitchens will need to rely more on private donations, and Smith-Wade-El and Rivera both praised the Millersville University students who used their end-of-semester dining dollars to purchase nearly 4,000 pounds of food to support The Loft, a social services hub with mobile and in-house food pantry services.

Residents interested in the Lancaster County Food Exchange can learn more here.