LANCASTER, PA — Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding concluded the Shapiro administration’s 2026 Urban Agriculture Tour on Friday by highlighting a $45,109 state grant supporting fresh food production at Lancaster Recreation Commission’s Bay Street Garden, part of a broader effort to expand food access and strengthen local agriculture statewide.
The Bay Street Garden received an Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant to support food production on a redeveloped urban site. The grants are funded through the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, which received $13.8 million in the 2026-27 state budget signed last weekend, continuing support for the program for an eighth year.
The weeklong tour included stops in Erie, Pittsburgh, Williamsport, Shamokin, Philadelphia and Lancaster, showcasing projects supported through Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grants, Agricultural Innovation Grants, the Fresh Food Financing Initiative and other state programs designed to increase access to fresh food and address local economic challenges.
Redding said the administration’s investments are intended to help communities address hunger and food insecurity through locally developed solutions.
“Food security is still key to national security,” Redding stated. “The Shapiro Administration’s local approach to public investment helps communities tackle the impacts of poverty and hunger with solutions that fit their communities.”
The Lancaster Recreation Commission said the Bay Street Garden has become both a food source and a community gathering place.
“Connections grow beyond the garden, getting more people involved in their neighborhood, making it more desirable to live in and easier to feel like they belong,” Recreation Specialist Spencer Shambaugh stated.
The tour also highlighted a $100,000 Fresh Food Financing Initiative grant supporting The Community Grocer in Philadelphia, Agricultural Innovation Grants in Erie, and Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant projects in Pittsburgh.
Since 2019, Pennsylvania has invested more than $3.7 million through its Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant program, supporting 180 projects that expand food production and improve access to fresh food in urban neighborhoods.
The 2026-27 budget also provides $10 million for Agricultural Innovation Grants, $10 million in Fruit Grower Freeze Impact Grants, $5 million to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza and $13.8 million to continue funding the Pennsylvania Farm Bill.
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