Garry and Kathleen Hunsicker, along with their son Stephen and nephew Travis Hahn, operate Twin Maple Farms, a third and fourth-generation potato, vegetable and grain farm located in Bath (Northampton County). For many years, Twin Maple had worked with retail accounts throughout the region. In the spring of 2023, one of their retail partners signed an exclusive agreement with another vendor, leaving Twin Maple with a surplus of potatoes on-hand. They reached out to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania.
Travis Hahn shared, “Second Harvest was able to use their Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) funds to help take the extra potatoes off our hands, and we’ve since built a steady relationship, delivering product to the food bank on a regular basis. Our work with Second Harvest led to more work with the charitable food network, including Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Cooperative (MARC).”
Later in the season, a frost forecast threatened to harm peppers that Twin Maple still had in the field. Hahn reflected, “If we didn’t pick that product, the quality would have been damaged due to the frost. However, we were able to pick all of those peppers because we knew Second Harvest would work with us using their LFPA funding. I can’t say enough about the program and Second Harvest, and how they have helped our business.”
“Second Harvest’s partnership with Twin Maple- not to mention more than a dozen other local farms- has grown exponentially due to LFPA” shared Bradley Holub, Second Harvest’s Food Sourcing Coordinator. “Our partner pantries love getting farm-fresh product from Twin Maple because they know they’re getting honestly grown, nutritious, and delicious local vegetables. And you can’t get more local – some of their potatoes were grown closer to our front door than theirs! Agencies of all sizes have benefitted, too. Our smaller partners can order a few bags at a time from warehouse inventory when they need them, and a growing number of larger agencies can get product delivered directly to them. The Hunsicker family have been wonderful to work with, and we are extremely grateful that the LFPA gave us the opportunity to partner with them so much more deeply.”
Twin Maple Farms and Second Harvest Food Bank continue their work to help each other and have a positive impact in their community. “It’s rewarding to know that our fresh produce is staying local – serving neighbors in our area and supporting an efficient operation,” said Hahn. “The local delivery reduces our costs and allows for a fresher, healthier product to be delivered. We’ve also started delivering directly to a few of Second Harvest’s local pantries to get our items to neighbors quicker and with a longer shelf life. Second Harvest and LFPA have been very supportive to our business.”
Visit the Twin Maple Farms website and follow them on social media:
Photos courtesy of Twin Maple Farms
For more information on how to get involved, contact Tom Mainzer, Director of Agricultural Partnerships, at [email protected] or call 717-257-9850.
Learn more about Feeding Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Partnerships at feedingpa.org/agricultural-partnerships.