Farm Bureau-supported legislation that would provide grants to help food processors equip their employees with personal protective equipment is moving forward in the General Assembly.
The state House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee voted unanimously to approve House Bill 179, sending it to the full chamber for consideration. The same measure, sponsored by Rep. Bridget Kosierowski of Lackawanna County, cleared the House unanimously last year but did not reach a vote by the Senate.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau believes the measure would assist food processors with keeping their employees safe and maintain a critical link in the food supply chain. Closures of food processing operations due to COVID-19 outbreaks last spring led to significant supply chain bottlenecks that resulted in shortages of certain products at grocery stores while farmers were left with livestock and commodities they could not market.