Dear Reader,
Today is day three of my hunger strike. I continue this because the issue at hand is too important to ignore: people in our own community cannot reliably feed themselves, and the systems designed to help them have been weakened instead of strengthened.
Coatesville’s reality is stark. The city faces a ~25% poverty rate, and approximately 75% of Coatesville’s children rely on the school breakfast and lunch program as their primary source of daily nutrition. Those meals were never meant to be the only stable food a child receives—but that is the truth for many families here.
And now, with the passage of the so-called “big beautiful bill,” the federal supports that kept these programs adequately funded have been defunded or rolled back, leaving children and families even more vulnerable. When funding disappears, hunger does not. It simply becomes more invisible, more desperate, and more likely to fall on the shoulders of local communities that are already stretched thin.
My hunger strike is about this failure: the failure to prioritize food security in a place where the need is obvious, measurable, and urgent. Hunger is not theoretical here. It lives in the stomachs of children whose only reliable meals come from school cafeterias. It lives in the households deciding between groceries and gas. It lives in the quiet gaps created when federal support disappears and nothing local rises to meet the need.
So today, I am asking this question directly:
What are you—Valley Township representatives—doing to secure food accessibility for the citizens you are elected to serve?
How are you responding to the loss of federal support for the meal programs that 75% of Coatesville’s children depend on?
Are you:
Planning for local solutions to replace what was cut at the federal level?
Coordinating with Coatesville schools, nonprofits, and the Chester County Food Bank to understand the scale of need?
Reviewing zoning and code enforcement practices so you aren’t blocking families from growing gardens, raising hens, or using other safe, practical, historically normal ways to feed themselves?
Asking yourselves whether the decisions you make support human survival—food, safety, stability—or whether they make it harder?
Coatesville’s poverty rate and reliance on school meals are not secrets. These numbers have been public for years. The question is not whether hunger exists. The question is whether our local government acknowledges its role in addressing it.
My hunger is voluntary. The hunger in our community is not.
I am committed to staying visible and uncomfortable until these questions are answered publicly and sincerely. And I am ready—eager—to speak to any Township official willing to discuss real solutions that increase resilience instead of punishing the small-scale, household-level food practices that could make a measurable difference.
How to Speak Up
Your voice matters. If you believe that hunger and food access should be central priorities—not afterthoughts—please speak directly to Township officials. Share this message with neighbors, families, teachers, and anyone who cares about the wellbeing of our community.
You can reach any Township office through the main number: 610-384-5751.
Janis A. Rambo – Township Manager/Secretary, Right-to-Know Officer
610-384-5751 ext. 101 | jrambo@valleytownship.org
Code Enforcement Department
Codesofficer@valleytownship.org | 610-384-5751 ext. 402
Kyle Bendler – Building/Codes Officer – 302-266-9057
Joy Hurst – Codes Coordinator – 610-384-5751 ext. 401
Dave Porter – Zoning Officer – 610-356-9550 x217
Township Solicitors
Andrew D.H. Rau, Esquire – arau@utbf.com | 610-692-1371
Amanda J. Sundquist, Esquire – asundquist@utbf.com | 610-692-1371
Unruh Turner Burke & Frees, 17 W. Gay Street, West Chester, PA 19380
Supervisors / Officials
Linda Baugher – 610-384-5751 ext. 505 – lbaugher@valleytownship.org
Casey Max Leidy – 610-384-5751 ext. 503 – cleidy@valleytownship.org
Kris Lenhart – 610-384-5751 ext. 201 – klenhart@valleytownship.org
LeRoy Goldsmith – 610-384-5751– lgoldsmith@valleytownship.org
Sharon Yates – 610-384-5751 ext. 504 – syates@valleytownship.org
Tell them clearly:
Food access is a local issue now. What are you doing about it?
Sincerely,
Stephanie N. Shermer