Share Food Program
{{Short description|Philadelphia food bank}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Share Food Program
| formation = 1986
| type = Nonprofit
| location_city = Philadelphia
| location_country = United States
| region_served = Philadelphia
| services = Food bank
| leader_title = Executive Director
| leader_name = George Matysik
| leader_title2 = Chief Program Officer
| leader_name2 = Steve Preston
| affiliations =
- CSFP - Commodity Supplemental Food Program
- FMNP - Farmers Market Nutrition Program
- NSLP - National School Lunch Program
- SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- TEFAP - The Emergency Food Assistance Program
| website = www.sharefoodprogram.org
}}
Share Food Program is a social services organization working for hunger relief in the Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania, United States.{{cite news |last1=Rovins |first1=Donna |title=Shoppers have two new grocery options in Montgomery and Chester counties |url=https://www.thereporteronline.com/2021/03/01/shoppers-have-two-new-grocery-options-in-montgomery-and-chester-counties/ |date=September 23, 2021|access-date=March 9, 2025 |work=The Reporter |language=en}} It serves as a food bank to the communities in accordance with USDA civil rights regulations and feeds more than 1 million people each month in Philadelphia and the suburbs.{{cite news |title=How to solve "the lost mile" for hungry Philadelphians |url=https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/solve-lost-mile-hungry-philadelphians/ |access-date=7 January 2021 |work=The Philadelphia Citizen}} Share Food Program is the largest hunger-relief agency in the Greater Philadelphia area.{{cite news |title=Food insecurity rose 'significantly' in households with children and among people of color, report finds |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/hunger-food-insecurity-children-black-latino-people-of-color-poverty-20210908.html |access-date=29 September 2021 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}
History
Share Food Program was founded in 1986 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, focused on increasing access to low-cost food in Philadelphia, using a food co-operative model. Beginning in 1991, it expanded its operations to fight hunger, by getting food to people in need throughout the city.{{cite news |last1=Zlomek |first1=Joe |title=Share Food Program Joins Pottsgrove Meals Distribution Monday |url=https://sanatogapost.com/2020/09/27/share-food-pottsgrove-distribution/ |access-date=27 September 2020 |work=The Sanatoga Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025145619/https://sanatogapost.com/2020/09/27/share-food-pottsgrove-distribution/ |archive-date=October 25, 2020}}{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.sharefoodprogram.org/about-us/ |website=Share Food Program - Official website |access-date=22 April 2021}}
During the COVID-19 outbreak that began in March 2020, the organization partnered with SEAMAAC, a Philadelphia-based non-profit to distribute 1,000 meals and food boxes a day since mid-May 2020.{{cite news |last1=Blatt |first1=Jessica |title=SEAMAAC feeds thousands of Philadelphians—and gets out the vote—during Covid-19 |url=https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/seamaac-philadelphia/ |date=2 September 2020 |work=The Philadelphia Citizen}} In October 2020, it received grant from William Penn Foundation{{cite news |title=WPF Awards Racial Equity and COVID-19 Relief Grants |url=https://williampennfoundation.org/newsroom/wpf-awards-racial-equity-and-covid-19-relief-grants |publisher=William Penn Foundation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020142632/https://williampennfoundation.org/newsroom/wpf-awards-racial-equity-and-covid-19-relief-grants |archive-date=October 20, 2020 }} and, along with other donations, was able to give away 10 million pounds of food.{{cite news |last1=Lubrano |first1=Alfred |title=At holiday time, donations to many food charities aren't keeping up with pandemic-fueled need |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/hunger-food-pantry-share-philabundance-thanksgiving-coronavirus-20201110.html |date=November 10, 2020 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |language=en}}
In January 2021, State Senator Vincent Hughes presented state funding to the Share Food Program for warehouse maintenance.{{cite news |last1=MacDonald |first1=Tom |title=Place for food insecure finds state funds to help power refrigeration with the sun |url=https://whyy.org/articles/food-distribution-hub-gets-a-million-dollars-to-fund-repairs-and-go-solar/?fbclid=IwAR2fPWkHZh32l7nCqGr3FyfUDrDQ1l-yBBu3JVESNSaFx1Q0o4xtef0uk2g |date=January 25, 2021 |work=WHYY}} On the National Day of Service, over 100 volunteers participated to distribute food to seniors’ programs and families in need.{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Khiree |title=Volunteers spend MLK Day helping out at Share Food Program |url=https://phl17.com/phl17-morning-news/volunteers-spend-mlk-day-helping-out-at-share-food-program/?fbclid=IwAR0MpafsapCfjH0JuzL6Zc4YXsSTYNze22Cnm8Kor709Z9O799jHEmKztRI |date=18 January 2021 |work=PHL17.com}} In February 2021, the organization received a grant from Dunkin Joy in Childhood Foundation.{{cite news |title=Dunkin' Presents $25,000 Grant To Philadelphia's Share Food Program |url=https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/5273365-dunkin-presents-25000-grant-to-philadelphias-share-food-program/ |date=April 22, 2021 |work=CBS News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422205552/https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/5273365-dunkin-presents-25000-grant-to-philadelphias-share-food-program/ |archive-date=April 22, 2021}}
In 2023, Share had raised $28M of a $35M goal to upgrade its food distribution warehouse on West Hunting Park Ave in North Philadelphia.{{cite news |url=https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-food-bank-share-food-program-justice-camapign/ |title=Philly’s Share Food Program is launching an ambitious campaign to combat the city’s hunger crisis |first=Marcus |last=Biddle |date=June 9, 2023 |work=WHYY }}
Overview
Share Food Program distributes food to 1 million needy people each month, over 50% of whom are children, and 12% of whom are seniors or people with disabilities. It also serves 305,000 children through the national school lunch and breakfast program to 69 regional districts in Philadelphia.{{cite news |last1=Lubrano |first1=Alfred |title=Idle school bus drivers in Ridley dispatched to deliver food to student families |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/hunger-ridley-schools-delaware-county-coronavirus-lunch-school-bus-20200930.html |date=September 30, 2020 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |language=en}} The food comes from government partners, supermarkets, wholesalers, restaurants, farms and food drives.
The organization partners with 150 pantries around Philadelphia as part of its Partner Pantries program. Other programs include food relief, MontCo Hunger Solutions, Nice Roots farm and home deliveries. It also partners with DoorDash, delivering 4,500 boxes of food a month in 2024. In about two hours, more than 500 of 32-pound boxes of food are dispatched to low-income area seniors in need in Philadelphia area counties via DoorDash.{{cite news |url=https://www.inquirer.com/identity/share-food-bank-senior-boxes-door-dash-20240311.html |title=North Philly is home to one of DoorDash’s busiest pickup spots in the world |first=Alfred |last=Lubrano |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=March 11, 2024 |id={{Proquest|2957845808}} }}
References
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External links
- [https://www.sharefoodprogram.org/our-programs/ Share Food Programs]
Category:501(c)(3) organizations
Category:Food security in the United States
Category:Hunger relief organizations
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania