The hidden nature of poverty and hunger makes us less aware of its prevalence in our communities, but hunger exists in all communities. Hunger has many faces, and touches more than 900,000 individuals in the Delaware Valley. 

Hunger doesn't happen in a vacuum and many factors including low wages, lack of education and rising costs help create a situation where someone doesn't have enough to eat.

Of the population we serve, approximately 23% of the recipients are children and 16% are senior citizens.  The remaining recipients are parents, caregivers, and single adults—including homeless, mentally ill, and disabled people—who receive support from nonprofit social service agencies.  Philabundance provides food to approximately 65,000 people per week through our network of more than 600 member agencies, at an aggregate cost to us of less than 25 cents per meal.

The number of individuals and families whose monthly incomes rose just above the federal poverty level, but who were still unable to meet their basic needs and forced to seek hunger relief in the Delaware Valley is growing rapidly. More and more working people in our neighborhoods have to choose between paying for food or utilities.

The Federal Poverty Line formula disregards the qualifying poor who receive food stamps, but live above the poverty line and the working poor who make too much to collect welfare, but who are not self sufficient.  Philabundance is serving this ignored population through our network of more than 600 agencies, which are made up of churches, cupboards and pantries throughout the Delaware Valley.