Overview

Gemma’s Angels is an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting the immediate needs of persons experiencing poverty and hunger while working with their communities on long-term solutions to the conditions that perpetuate poverty. OUR VISION -- We want to change the way we feed the hungry. OUR MISSION – We provide fresh produce to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food banks, and senior citizen agencies in lower Dauphin, Lebanon County, and the northern part of Lancaster County. We try to motivate at-risk children and families to make healthier food choices, increasing their access to fresh, local food and teaching them to live more sustainably. OUR BELIEF --Poverty should never be an obstacle to eating fresh fruits and vegetables. HOW WE ADDRESS IMMEDIATE NEEDS -- We buy fresh produce from local farmers, citizen gardeners, and our vendors. We then distribute that produce free to soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, and senior centers using our Mobile Farmer's Market. Using that vehicle, we operate an All-Kids Mobile Farmer's Market where school-age children can pick and choose their own produce to take home to supplement their home food programs. We also add an educational component by supplying material about fresh food and nutrition. We also operate a Reverse Food Truck which can appear at local public events and collects produce vs. selling food. WE ENDEAVOR TO WORK ON LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS TO THE CONDITIONS THAT PERPETUATE POVERTY -- Good nutrition is a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for attaining and maintaining good health. Good health is a necessary condition for being able to work gainfully, particularly in the manual occupations in which people living in multi-generational poverty are most likely--but not necessarily--able to find employment. We commit ourselves to developing and conducting educational programs for families and children to actively engage them in generating enthusiasm about eating local.