Welcome to Doing Good, Philadelphia Weekly’s nonprofit spotlight. Every week we’re featuring an organization that’s doing good in our community. Every nonprofit gets the same five questions, and every week you get introduced to the people who are making our city better. The nonprofit spotlight is here to shine a light on the helpers, and, who knows, maybe you’ll be inspired to get involved, volunteer or donate to an organization you meet here.
Today we’re introducing you to one of the most well-known nonprofits in our city, Philabundance, whose mission to tackle the root causes of hunger has made a big impact in Philadelphia.
What is your mission?
Philabundance was founded with the simple belief that no one should go hungry while healthy food goes to waste. Our mission is to drive hunger from our communities today and to end hunger for good. In addition to food distribution, we reduce food waste, increase access to nutritious meals and tackle the root causes of hunger through programs such as the Philabundance Community Kitchen.
Philabundance serves five counties in Pennsylvania: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia, and four counties in New Jersey: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem.
How have you made a difference?
Philabundance is a proud member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks leading the fight against hunger in the United States.
We all know the power of a delicious meal — one that comforts us, nourishes us and connects us with the people we love. Food is a fundamental part of our experience as humans. Sharing food binds us together, strengthens our communities and reinforces our connections with each other. When it comes down to it, food is love. And when we give food to people who need it, we’re sharing the love.
We see this love in action at Philabundance every day. Our staff members, agency partners, donors and volunteers work together to distribute millions of pounds of food each year. We serve families, children’s programs, senior centers and kitchens across our nine-county service area, and the people we serve know they can rely on us to provide healthy and satisfying food when they need it. Making sure that every child, family and individual in our community has access to the food they want and need is an expression of our love for our neighbors.
What do you wish people knew about you?
Philabundance has a culinary workforce development program at our Philabundance Community Kitchen. The 16-week life skills and culinary job training program has been transforming the lives of people with low-to-no income since 2000. PCK promotes the self-sufficiency of its students by preparing them for and connecting them to work in the food service industry and allows them to give back by preparing needed meals for those in need. Another focus of the curriculum is on life skills, which helps students not only secure a job, but provides tools to build a career and a second chance at life. In addition, the program utilizes our production kitchen to train the students as well as provide meals to shelters, seniors and others in our area who need ready-to-eat food. PCK is also a social enterprise that has its own catering component, PCKatering, and is providing an outlet for value-added production to businesses in and around Philadelphia.
How can people get involved?
The faces of hunger are varied and plentiful, and so are the number of ways you can help make a difference in our communities.
Here’s how:
- Donate
One dollar may provide up to two meals to help feed those in need. Philabundance can stretch your dollar further by buying in bulk and directly from manufacturers, allowing us to use your money to help even more of our hungry neighbors. - Volunteer
More than 15,000 volunteers saved us $1.5 million in salaries last year. Make a direct impact by generously offering your time to get food into the hands of those who need it most. - Organize a Food Drive
One pound of food provides one meal to someone facing hunger. By collecting our most-needed items, including peanut butter and tuna, you’re not just helping provide food, but providing protein-rich, healthy food. - Become a Corporate Partner
When your organization supports Philabundance, you can do good, and raise goodwill and visibility for your company. - Advocate
20% of people in our area may go to bed hungry tonight. Make your voice heard through letter- writing, attending events and supporting policies that increase food access for the most vulnerable people in our communities. - Help us drive hunger from our communities
Whether you want to become a corporate partner, distribute food to those in need or to other agencies fighting hunger or want to help in another way, we’re always looking for more Hunger Heroes.
