LPO - 7 Easterwood Street, Suite J Millville, NJ 08332

HARVEST COMMUNITY BANK ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO STOCK ACQUISITION BY PENN BANCSHARES, INC.

       Salem County, New Jersey, September 22, 2005 – Harvest Community Bank (OTCBB:HCBP) (the “Bank”) announced that it intends to vigorously oppose the application recently submitted by Penn Bancshares, Inc., the parent holding company of Pennsville National Bank, to the Federal Reserve Board for approval to acquire up to 24.89% of the outstanding common stock of Harvest Community Bank.  The proposed action by Penn Bancshares, Inc. is an unsolicited attempt on the part of Penn Bancshares, Inc. to acquire a significant interest in Harvest Community Bank.  The Board of Directors of Harvest Community Bank previously adopted a strategic plan that calls for the Bank’s continued growth as an independent financial institution and the Board believes that there is no reason at this time to deviate from such plan. 

       Michael A. Williams, Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Directors, stated, “At this early stage of the Bank’s development, the Board does not believe that shareholder value would be maximized through a sale to a third party of a controlling interest in the Bank.  Moreover, the Board firmly believes that any type of transaction between the Bank and its principal competitor in our primary service area would be detrimental to the interests of our customers and the communities that we serve.  We initially founded the Bank because we believed that the needs of the public were being underserved by the existing financial institutions located in Salem County.  Therefore, the Board intends to vigorously oppose any attempts made by Pennsville National Bank or its parent holding company to acquire any substantial portion of the Bank’s outstanding shares.”

       When asked to comment on the proposal submitted by Penn Bancshares to the Federal Reserve Board, Dennis H. Engle, President and CEO of the Bank, said, “I believe that the action being taken by Penn Bancshares is in direct response to the competitive pressures that Pennsville National Bank is facing as a result of our Bank’s phenomenal growth, which growth has been made possible by the tremendous loyalty and support of our customers and the excellent skills, drive and determination of our Board of Directors, officers and staff.  Management of the Bank is committed to remaining independent and to continuing to provide our customers with the high level of personal service for which we are known.”

       Anyone interested in commenting on the application made by Penn Bancshares to the Federal Reserve Board for approval to acquire up to 24.89% of the outstanding common stock of Harvest Community Bank may do so on or before October 20, 2005.  Such comments should be submitted in writing to Dede Myers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Ten Independence Mall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.  To obtain a copy of the applicable Federal Reserve Board procedures, or if you need more information about how to submit your comments on the application submitted by Penn Bancshares, contact Dede Myers, Vice President and Community Affairs Officer, at (215) 574-6482.

       Harvest Community Bank is a community bank headquartered in Pennsville, New Jersey, with assets of approximately $132 million as of June 30, 2005.  The Bank has additional branches in Woodstown and Elmer, New Jersey and is currently in the process of seeking the necessary regulatory approvals to open a branch in Salem City, New Jersey.  The Bank began operations in January 2000 with the purpose of serving small businesses, professionals, and retail customers in Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester Counties, New Jersey.  The Bank’s deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to a maximum of $100,000 per depositor.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information in this release relating to Harvest Community Bank’s future prospects which are forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) operating, legal and regulatory risks, such as continued levels of loan quality and origination volumes, continued relationships with major customers and technological changes; (2) economic, political and competitive forces affecting our banking business, such as changed in economic conditions, especially in our market area, interest rate fluctuations, competitive product and pricing pressures within our market, personal and corporate bankruptcies, monetary policy and inflation; (3) our ability to grow internally; and (4) the risk that management’s analyses of these risks and forces could be incorrect and/or that the strategies developed to address them could be unsuccessful. 

Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “expects,” “subject,” “believe,” “will,” “intends,” “will be,” or “would.”  More information about factors that potentially could affect Harvest Community Bank’s financial results is included in Harvest Community Bank’s filings with the FDIC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2004.  Harvest Community Bank assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this announcement.

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