Fight Hunger in Philadelphia

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine being hungry. But, hunger is a very large issue in Philadelphia. Almost daily at Temple University I have been asked by a homeless person if I can spare any change. In Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District more than 31% of households don’t have enough money to buy food for their family. This district ranks as the fourth highest in the nation for food hardship.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger is an organization that works to fight hunger. There are over 700 soup kitchens and food pantries in Philadelphia and the Coalition helps to supply these kitchens with food throughout the year. This organization works in three different ways to provide education, outreach and advocacy throughout Philadelphia region. They collect donations to supply food kitchens and they help to keep these pantries open in the winter when people need a hot meal the most. They also evaluate individuals to see if they qualify for food stamps. Through their assistance, over 440,000 Philadelphia residents use food stamps.  The Coalition relies heavily on donations and on Saturday, April 9^th they are holding a 5K Walk + Run to raise money for food and kitchen equipment.

During this recession, it has become more difficult for working parents to provide food for their family. That’s where Philabundance comes in. They provide food not only to pantries in Philadelphia, but in the Delaware Valley as well. In addition, they help families and individuals who don’t qualify for Food Stamps. Philabundance works with grocery stores to collect items that would otherwise be thrown away. Last year, through their partnership they collected 1.2 million pounds of food through this program.

I am very involved with the Temple Ad Club and we are holding a food drive during the month of April to benefit Philabundance. We will be collecting canned food during our general meetings. I encourage you to donate to these organizations and if you are a Temple student you can donate to our food drive by emailing tac@temple.edu.