USDA Visits Fare & Square, Nation’s First Nonprofit Grocery Store in Chester, Pa

Under Secretary Concannon tours Fare & Square to discuss innovative ideas that provide access to food 

Under Secretary Kevin Concannon is visiting the Philadelphia region this week to focus on topics such as summer hunger and food access. While he is here, Under Secretary Concannon is touring Fare & Square, the nation’s first nonprofit grocery store of its kind on Friday, March 7 to learn more about innovations like Fare & Square, an initiative that  helps provide access to fresh food in Chester, Pa, and discuss how a model like this can help alleviate food deserts across the country. 

Under Secretary Concannon oversees the Food and Nutrition Service which feeds an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. population, through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, which serves over 34 million Americans each month; child nutrition programs including National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Summer Food Service Programs and other nutrition programs. Under Secretary Concannon is extremely engaged in the USDA’s War on Poverty initiatives. 

The War on Poverty was pivotal in the development of the United States’ robust nutrition safety net-- our nation's system of nutrition assistance programs that help 1 in 4 Americans put healthy food on the table.