Blog Category: Blog

Blog

From Loree’s Table – Winter 2022

Happy Holidays, Philabundance Family!   I truly believe this time of year creates something special. Maybe it’s the traditions, the holiday meals, the promise of a new year—or maybe it’s just the opportunity to spend more time with those we love.   Unfortunately, we know that for many people in

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Blog

PCK Holiday Recipes

This holiday season, enjoy two savory side recipes from our talented Philabundance Community Kitchen (PCK) chefs. These delicious recipes are sure to be a hit at the table. Bon Appétit!  ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND SMOKED GOUDA MAC AND CHEESE Serves 8 CAULIFLOWER SAUCE 3 cups cauliflower florets, cut small 1 tsp salt 1

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Blog

Giving Tuesday 2022

This Giving Tuesday we once again joined 6ABC for the Annual Holiday Food Drive! The Holiday Food Drive raises funds to help Philabundance in our mission to relieve hunger today and end hunger for good.   From 4 pm-6:30 pm, 6ABC broadcasted a series of news segments while volunteers waited

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Blog

Together We Can Do More

As the holidays approach, many people are busy giving gifts, planning parties, and stocking up on groceries for holiday celebrations. Many of the individuals we serve, though, can’t afford to go shopping for gifts let alone nutritious food, so the need for donations this time of year becomes even greater. Together

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Blog

Philabundance This Thanksgiving

We are Thankful for YOU   Together, with your help, we were able to fill both plates AND hearts this Thanksgiving despite the increased costs of food. Through both physical and monetary donations, we’re ensuring our neighbors in need can celebrate and enjoy the bounty of the holiday with family

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Blog

The Pink Shirts

As the 25th Anniversary of the Preston and Steve Camp Out for Hunger takes place this week (11/07-11/11/22), we at Philabundance are taking a moment to look back at the history of this incredible event and some of the people who have helped support it, ensuring it comes together. One group that has

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Blog

This Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner and there are spooky decorations everywhere we look. For many, it’s a time full of frightful fun with monsters and mummies, and ghosts and goblins galore. At the end of the evening on October 31st costumes get packed away and the decorations come down.  

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Blog

Philabundance and the Houston Food Bank Strike Out Hunger

As the Philadelphia Phillies face off against the Houston Astros, Philabundance has challenged the Houston Food Bank to a friendly fundraising competition to see which city steps up to Strike Out Hunger. Coming off a win in our challenge against Feeding San Diego, Philabundance is so grateful to our incredible

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Blog

Home Town Hunger Relief Challenge

Philabundance and Feeding San Diego both had teams facing off on the baseball field for their division’s championship. In the spirit of friendly competition, Philabundance challenged Feeding San Diego to see who can raise more funding to feed the people we serve. With the cost of food rising, too many

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Advocacy

Community Voices Matter

Late this spring, the White House announced plans for a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The conference date has been announced! The Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will be held on Wednesday, September 28th and will be live-streamed. The last conference of this kind was over 50 years

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Blog

2022 Hunger Action Month Virtual Food Drive*

Virtual food drives are a more economical and impactful way to give! If you’re unfamiliar with virtual food drives, they are a more economical and impactful way to give to communities facing hunger. Instead of driving to the store, purchasing food to donate, and then dropping those items off at

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Blog

Take Action This Hunger Action Month

September is Hunger Action Month — the Feeding America network’s annual nationwide campaign designed to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of hunger in the United States. This month-long campaign brings attention to the reality of food insecurity in the U.S. and promotes ways for individuals to get

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Blog

This Summer We Said ‘Let’s Eat’

As we reflect on our Philabundance Let’s Eat meal box program, which wrapped up earlier this month, we’re excited to share highlights from this summer initiative. Over the course of eight weeks, June 13th through August 6th, we distributed 16,000 nutritious meal kits to our 9-county community. That’s a total

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Blog

Top Guac 2022

The judges have chosen, and the 2022 Philabundance “Top Guac” Competition winner is Jessica deRivera, Development & Engagement Manager, Billy Penn at WHYY!  Philabundance, The GIANT Company, and Avocados from Peru teamed up for the 2nd annual Top Guac competition. The three guest contestants had 15 minutes to pit, mash,

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Blog

Food Insecurity Rates for Our Service Area 

Since 2011, Feeding America has conducted their annual Map the Meal Gap study to provide its member food banks with details about food insecurity on a local level.  Food insecurity is a measure of access to enough food for a healthy and active life. From the data now available, which

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Blog

Full Plate Society Spotlight: Hannah Kastenbaum

In her day job, Hannah Kastenbaum puts her passion to work each and every day: using her medical degree to help others. As an associate medical examiner for the City of Philadelphia’s Medical Examiner Office, Kastenbaum provides an important service to grieving families, public health, and the criminal justice process.

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Blog

From Loree’s Table – Summer 2022

Dear Friends, I hope your summer, so far, has been a time for relaxing, reenergizing, and reconnecting with family, friends, and the community. While the adverse effects of COVID-19, inflation, and supply chain issues will be with us for a long time, I’m confident we are making strides. I find

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Advocacy

Advocacy Beet: Kathy Fisher, Director, Government Affairs

As summer begins, we are entering a challenging new phase for school and summer meal providers – and for the children and families who rely on them. While Pennsylvania has provided some flexibility to nutrition programs to better function through several USDA waivers, two waivers will expire unless Congress acts.

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Blog

Hunger Doesn’t Take a Summer Vacation and Neither Does Philabundance!

Many children in our region rely on meals served at school to provide the nutrition they need to learn and grow. However, after school, on weekends, and especially during summer breaks, consistent access to fresh, healthy food may become unavailable. Like many organizations, Philabundance had to adjust distribution operations during

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Blog

Let’s Eat: Community Resources

In addition to Let’s Eat meal kits, we will highlight an educational or community resource each week. This page contains an archive of all of the Let’s Eat resources we’ve shared to date.   Week 1 To kick off the summer, we wanted to provide information that would complement the

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Blog

Let’s Eat by Philabundance

Approximately 400,000 children in the Philabundance service area, which covers nine counties in Southeastern PA and Southern NJ, rely on school-provided meals as a steady food source when school is in session. The loss of these meals during the summer forces too many families to face the additional challenge of

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Blog

Thank You to Our Volunteers

That’s a wrap! We are so thankful to everyone who spent time with us repacking food during Volunteer Appreciation Week. Our dedicated volunteers helped the Philabundance team sort and box more than 22,000 pounds of nutritious food.  We owe so much of our success to everyone helping us carry out

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Blog

One Million Meals: Pass the Love Campaign Reaches a Major Milestone

Partnership for Healthier America (PHA), along with PHA Honorary Chair Michelle Obama and Higher Ground Productions, recently announced that the ‘Pass the Love w/ Waffles + Mochi’ campaign has surpassed its goal of distributing one million healthy meals to families facing food insecurity around the country.   ‘Pass the Love’, which

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Blog

Philabundance Welcomes New Chief Development Officer

Philabundance is excited to announce our new Chief Development Officer, Chuck Wright. This seasoned professional will lead a dynamic development team and oversee all development and fundraising efforts at Philabundance, a hunger relief organization that directly serves more than 300 community focused organizations and provides additional food resources through lead

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Blog

Food for Thought: Health and Hunger

    Thank you to everyone who attended our Health and Hunger webinar, the first of our Food for Thought Virtual Conversation Series.   This webinar featured a panel of speakers with national, regional, and local perspectives on the issue of food insecurity in relation to health and well-being.   If you

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Blog

The Value of Volunteerism

If anything can be said about the past two years, it’s that Philadelphians have come together to rise above the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the hard-fought, intense struggles we’ve faced, we’ve seen thousands upon thousands of selfless individuals put their own challenges aside to volunteer their time to help

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Blog

Planning with Passion: Spotlight on Peter DiBattiste

Education, health, and hunger— there’s no arguing the impact you can make on humankind in any one of these areas, according to Peter.   As a career cardiologist and graduate of LaSalle University, DiBattiste has chosen to leave a legacy in all three of these areas with planned gifts to

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Blog

Of the 170 Virtual Food Drives in 2021, Aro Tops the List

The pandemic has altered day-to-day life for most of us, and Philabundance is no exception. With many working remotely, practicing social distance and limiting the number of people gathering at any given time, the traditional food drive model, like so many other events, went virtual! While a Virtual Food Drive

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Blog

From Loree’s Table – Spring 2022

  Dear Friends, I hope you and your loved ones are safe, well, and looking forward to spring. For me, spring is the most inspiring of the seasons. It’s the season of hope.   As you’ll read about in the latest print issue of The Feed, “It’s All Good” at

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Blog

Philabundance Will Drive Hunger Away During Ramadan

Ramadan is a sacred time of fasting, introspection, self-improvement, and heightened devotion to prayer. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and those unable to fast are encouraged to help feed others in need. For the second year in a row, Philabundance will be working with State Senator Street’s office to

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Blog

Staff Spotlight – Meet Jamiliyah Foster

Meet Jamiliyah Foster: Director, Ending Hunger for Good Raised by a social worker mother, Jamiliyah Foster has always felt a strong commitment to service. “My mother always reminded my brother and me that we have many blessings to count,” remembers Jamiliyah.   Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jamiliyah Foster graduated

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Blog

A Commitment to Good Food

Philabundance was founded on the belief that no food should go to waste while people struggle to put food on their table. We started this project over 35 years ago and have continued to grow and evolve as we learn more about hunger in our area. Our growth has included

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Blog

National School Breakfast Week

You’ve likely heard the old adage, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” It turns out, there’s a lot of truth to that, especially when it comes to students. Extensive studies show that children who eat a healthy breakfast are more likely to: Have better concentration and memory.

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Blog

Good Things are coming to Philabundance

Have you heard? Good things are coming to Philabundance, and we can’t wait to share the news! Here at Philabundance, we rely on our partners to help us identify innovative ways to drive hunger from our communities today and End Hunger for Good. And this year, we’ve got an exciting

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Blog

At Philabundance, Food is Love

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

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Blog

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Today, as we commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr., we’re once again inspired by his unwavering commitment to service. Dr. King knew that the fight for justice and equality was connected to our collective service to those in need. Today, as we take time with our community and nation to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, we also heed his call to action. At Philabundance,

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Blog

Thank you for supporting Philabundance

Thank you for supporting Philabundance In 2021, those facing food insecurity throughout our region could count on Philabundance every day. We know that the tireless efforts of our supporters—the donors, volunteers, staff, and agency partners who make up our community—made that possible. Now, as we look toward the future, we’re

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Blog

Why donate to Philabundance?

As we celebrate the holiday season, many of us want to spread hope and comfort to those who are struggling—but problems like hunger in our communities can often feel impossible. In times like these, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. Together, we can make an extraordinary impact. When

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Blog

Philabundance Community Kitchen Holiday Recipes

Our amazing team at the Philabundance Community Kitchen joined Good Day Philadelphia to share some holiday recipes.  Watch this segment, courtesy of FOX29, featuring a cooking demo and the full recipes are below for your enjoyment. Roasted Butternut Squash with Brown Butter & Sage Ingredients: 2-ea. Butternut Squash, peeled &

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Blog

What Hope Means to Philabundance

At Philabundance, and for families across the country, the holiday season is in full swing. And for those of us fortunate enough, the holidays are full of warm feelings—the return of gatherings and celebrations and the opportunity to come together with loved ones. But, we know all too well that

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Blog

Full Plate Society Members Lend a Helping Hand

  The Full Plate Society represents some of Philabundance’s most generous philanthropic leaders, committed to our mission to drive hunger from our communities today and to end hunger for good. These members, who contribute $1,000 or more annually, make up just 6 percent of Philabundance’s individual donors, but account for

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Blog

Staff Spotlight – Meet Damien Douglas

If you have ever volunteered at the Philabundance Hunger Relief Center in South Philadelphia, chances are you have had the pleasure of meeting Damien Douglas. And if you have met Damien, the chances are great that you will return to volunteer again. Damien is the Philabundance repack supervisor. His job

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Blog

Justice For The Hungry, Justice For All

  “At the end of the day, if people can’t eat, nothing else matters,” David says. In March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, David Antzis was watching the news when it hit him. There, in front of his eyes, was a 9-year old Monmouth County, NJ girl

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Blog

From Loree’s Table – Fall 2021

  Dear Friends, As we’ve moved into the transition phase of COVID-19 toward a new normal, I’m reminded that change is stressful—that anxiety, fear, worry, and even excitement all play a part. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to feel during this time, just a need for us to

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Blog

Meals for Afghan Evacuees and Refugees

When Elias Bitar, Chef and owner of Norma’s Restaurant in Cherry Hill, was approached about making meals for Afghan evacuees arriving in Philadelphia, he knew he wanted to help but had to figure out how. With a 300-square-foot kitchen, he couldn’t produce hundreds, if not thousands, of meals daily and

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Advocacy

Getting Out the Vote

Today is National Voter Registration Day. Food banks like Philabundance are on the frontlines to ensure no one goes hungry, but we cannot do this work alone. Strong government policies and programs are needed to alleviate hunger today and end hunger for good. Elected officials make decisions that impact hunger

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Blog

Food Shouldn’t be an Impossible Choice

Parents everywhere often face the problem of their kids not liking the food put in front of them at breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s a tale as old as time: picky eaters. Parents try to make healthy choices and find foods that they hope their kids will eat. Both of

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Blog

In August, We Passed the Love

Over the course of four weeks in August, Philabundance partnered with over 25 locations to distribute 240,000 meals throughout the Philadelphia area. This effort was part of a national campaign called Pass the Love that was brought to Philadelphia by Partnership for a Healthier America and former First Lady Michelle Obama.  Each

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