The 2026-27 $50.8 billion state budget passed July 12, only a week and a half after the deadline, avoiding a repeat of last year’s months-long budget impasse. The enacted budget leaves out many sought-after policy changes, but makes strides in several areas, including housing, education, violence prevention, and hunger relief.

The budget includes several important investments that will help strengthen the charitable food network and provide assistance to vulnerable Pennsylvanians:

• $30.688 million for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus Program (PASS). This funding enables food pantries and charitable food programs across the Commonwealth to purchase food, maintain inventory, and operate effectively. These resources help local organizations safely and efficiently serve individuals and families experiencing hunger in their communities.
• $9.579 million for Farmers Market Food Coupons: This program helps connect eligible individuals and families with fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables while also supporting Pennsylvania farmers and local economies. The investment improves access to healthy food and strengthens communities throughout the state.
• The budget also provides $7 million to support the transition to secure, chip-enabled EBT cards, an important investment that will help protect SNAP recipients from electronic benefit theft. This measure will help to protect SNAP benefits and ensure vulnerable families are able to receive assistance in their time of need.

“We applaud lawmakers for making supporting these important programs that help both our neighbors facing food insecurity and our state’s farmers,” LAMPa Director Tracey DePasquale said. “We are especially pleased about the inclusion of funds to help bridge the multi-million dollar gap resulting from the federal cost-shift of the expense of administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As our ministries witness the need stemming from rising fuel, housing and energy costs on families, maintaining Pennsylvanian’s access to SNAP is vital.

The budget included several housing initiatives, including expanding Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones (KOEZ) to support residential housing development and continuing implementation of the Housing Action Plan.

It contains historic investments in education–more than $920 million in new state funding for public education spending. As a result of this budget, the Shapiro Administration will invest $11.85 billion in major K-12 education subsidies for Pennsylvania students for the first time ever – representing a nearly 35 percent increase compared to before Governor Shapiro took office. This budget provides an overall increase in education funding totaling more than $678 million, including a $565 million increase through the bipartisan adequacy and tax equity formula, a $58 million increase for Basic Education Funding, and a $55 million increase for Special Education Funding.

Despite bipartisan agreement on the need to address Pennsylvania’s growing data center industry, lawmakers failed to reach a deal this session, leaving current tax breaks for data center projects in place.  This year’s budget does include language to require data center operators to report their annual water and electricity usage to the state.

The budget includes a $62.5 million investment in violence prevention through the state’s Violence Intervention Program (VIP), the same as last year.

The Rainy Day Fund, which currently holds more than  $7 billion in reserves, stays intact. Despite concerns earlier this year that Pennsylvania might have to draw on its Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget, the state avoided doing so for the time being.

With the budget complete, the General Assembly is expected to spend much of the summer in recess before returning to Harrisburg this fall. The recess provides an opportunity to meet with your legislators in their district offices to thank them for investments that support vulnerable Pennsylvanians and continue conversations about policies needed to care for our neighbors and communities.