Latest news with #AllaynBeck
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Centre County officials look at response to weather emergency, food bank offering resources
CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – The impacts of last week's storms are still being felt with local leaders examining ways to better prepare for the next weather emergency, and the State College Food Bank offering free food to recover what residents may have lost. The storm put a strain on some Centre County services, with the 911 office receiving roughly 1,500 calls in an hour. Commissioners are now asking what can be done to help alleviate issues in the future. 'Now that we've had 1,500 calls in a single hour, what do we need to do to make our infrastructure and software a little more robust?' Commissioner Chair Mark Higgins said. SNAP recipients: Lose groceries due to severe weather? Here's how you might qualify for replacement benefits He says they want to make improvements where they can in the county's infrastructure, and hope that Pennsylvania's government is following suit. 'We'd hope the state legislature will step up and talk about how it's probably not acceptable to have 10,000-20,000 people in Pittsburgh without power an entire week later,' Higgins said. For Centre County residents who had to throw out food due to outages, State College Food Bank is still offering a solution. 'If someone's in the community who's not a registered client of ours, they're eligible for a one-time emergency distribution. All they need to do is live in Centre County and give us a call,' Executive Director Allayn Beck said. The food bank's number is 814-234-2310. For any SNAP benefits recipients, Beck says if you report a food loss due to outages by Friday, May 9, you will get extra SNAP dollars to spend on replacing that food. The Centre County Assistance Office's number is 814-863-6571. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. Beck wants the community to know the food bank is available to anyone in need. 'If we're able to help provide food and lessen maybe a little bit of the burden that's going on in people's homes and lives because of the storm, we're happy to help,' Beck said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ -
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal cuts could impact food banks in Central PA
CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – In early March, the U.S. Agriculture Department cut two programs that spent over $1 billion annually on schools and local food banks. The two programs include 'The Local Food for School Program' which cut $660 million and 'The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement' which cut $500 million. Now schools and local food banks are concerned about what will happen in the future. 'Those are going to have an impact on school feeding programs. So this could possibly be more families that need assistance in our community,' State College Food Bank Executive Director Allayn Beck said. They're not alone. During the recent Centre County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Mark Higgins said that the cuts to the food bank are worrisome. The State College Food Bank works with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank to buy in bulk at cheaper prices. 'Seeing these cuts and then if other fellow nonprofits are losing programs and staff are having to be cut, we are anticipating more need, growth. So from some of those cuts, we're going to see more people coming, but also some of those cuts are going to cause our food costs to go up,' Beck said. Beck said they have not been directly impacted by the cuts so far but are preparing for what could happen. 'Thankfully at this point, we haven't had to change what we have available on how we're distributing food, but that will become a question for us if we need to start prioritizing which items we have funds to purchase, depending on the cost,' Beck said. Beck says egg prices are an example, at one point they were paying over $6 for a dozen when it used to be $2. While the price hike isn't from the cuts, it does impact how much they can bring in, and stripping funding can contribute to the issue. She says while they can't control what happens there is something they can do. 'I don't have a lot of control over much happening in Washington, DC, but I do have a lot of control over what's happening here at the food bank and in our community. And the best thing to do is help and support each other and make sure that those people and our neighbors around us are being taken care of,' Beck said. Beck also had a message for residents who depend on the organization. She said no matter what happens they will ensure everyone gets what they need. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
