Produce Express

Produce Express is a Second Harvest Food Bank program that brings truckloads of free, healthy foods to impoverished neighborhoods in Erie.

For the last three years, Hamot Health Foundation has funded the Produce Express that delivers food to the Wayne School parking lot once a month.

This food is available to all members in the east side community who qualify and have registered ahead of time. In addition to basic groceries like bread and milk, Produce Express focuses on providing fresh fruits and vegetables, like the “Hard Seven” (i.e., apples, oranges, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, onions, and carrots), which last longer than other produce like berries and tomatoes.

The truck, which distributes food to 80 to 100 families in the Wayne School parking lot each month, uses both donated and purchased food.

Last year, Produce Express distributed 56,949 pounds of food in the Wayne School parking lot alone. Nearly 70 percent of those foods were perishable items like milk, meat, and fresh produce. The foods are also accompanied by recipes that show families how to cook the foods provided.