Philabundance Community Kitchen is here for you

The COVID-19 crisis has changed the way everyone does business, and the Philabundance Community Kitchen (PCK) is no different. Our day to day operations have certainly changed over the past few weeks, but we are still here for our city, neighbors and you! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

 

 

Our Students

In order to ensure the health and safety of our students, we made the challenging decision to place a temporary hold on in-person and on-site education. This was an especially hard decision because our students have overcome immense personal barriers in order to pursue their educational and professional goals. Even though our students aren’t physically with us, we are still doing everything we can to virtually support them. Students receive weekly support calls, newsletters and email from staff that include resources for continuing culinary education at home in addition to information on how to manage stress, current job opportunities and messages of hope and encouragement.

 

PCKatering

Across the nation, more and more people have become food insecure. PCKatering, PCK’s catering division, is stepping up to help fill that gap for Philadelphians. Typically, PCKatering serves private as well as corporate breakfasts, lunches, dinners, weddings and more, but have recently switched gears in order to provide additional meals to our city. Since Governor Wolf expanded the stay-at-home-order to all Pennsylvanians, PCK`me and the Federal Housing Administration have all experienced an increase in demand for meals and as a result have expanded current contracts with PCKatering. To help fill the demand, PCKatering has hired two current PCK students and one PCK alum to assist with meal production.

 

 

Our New Home

We broke ground on the new PCK building in May 2019 and our team has been working hard to create an amazing home for future students and the community. While we did experience a brief interruption to construction as a result of COVID-19, we have since qualified as an essential business, allowing construction to continue.

We are excited to share that the building is now more than 50 percent complete! The construction team has completed laying the building’s foundation and siding is now being installed. We are excited to see the completed building in late summer/early fall!

 

 

Thank You!

From everyone at PCK, we want to send a huge thank you for your ongoing support. We absolutely could not be doing this work without you! If you’d like to learn more about how you can support Philabundance’s COVID-19 efforts, click here.

Philabundance Awards 49 Member Agencies with Capacity Grants

Philabundance Awards 49 Member Agencies with Capacity Grants

Philabundance has announced $250,000 in 2025–2027 Capacity Grants for 49 member agencies across Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. This funding will provide the operational capital needed to allow organizations to remain flexible and able to adapt to changing needs.

From faith-based institutions in Delaware County to social service agencies meeting the needs of diverse families across Philadelphia County, the 2025–2027 Philabundance Capacity grantees are among the hundreds of organizations that partner with Philabundance to support the more than 600,000 individuals in our region experiencing food insecurity.

The grantees include

  • Bucks County: Bucks County Opportunity Council; Faith Baptist Church
  • Delaware County: Blessed Virgin Mary; Loaves & Fishes; Prayer Chapel Church of God in Christ
  • Mercer County: Prince of Peace Center
  • Montgomery County: Bethel Community Church; ElderNet of Lower Merion and Narberth; Grace Lutheran Norristown; Love Works Resource Center; Mitzvah Circle; Upper Merion Area Community Cupboard; Patrician Society
  • Philadelphia County: African Family Health Organization; Alexander McClure Elementary School; Bebashi; Bethany Missionary Baptist Church; Breaking Bread on Broad; Bright Hope Baptist Church; Broad Street Love; Brothers of Strawberry Mansion; Calvary Agape Outreach Services; Casa Del Carmen; Cast Your Cares; Christ Apostolic WOSEM; Community Center at Visitation; Episcopal Community Services; The Family Practice & Counseling Network; First Church Worship Center; Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry; Grace Community Christian Center; Kensington Health Sciences Academy; Lutheran Settlement House; Mighty Writers; Mi Salud Wellness; Nationalities Services Center; North Light Community Center; Old Pine Community Center; Open Door Ministries; Our Brothers Place; Paul L Dunbar School; Project H.O.M.E.; Southwest Family Service Center; St. Paul Outreach; Word In Action International Ministries
  • York County: Bethlehem Baptist Church; Mattie Dixon Community Center
  • Southern New Jersey: Puerto Rican Unity for Progress; SisterHood Inc.

Philabundance Capacity Grants help improve each organization’s ability to operate more efficiently and deliver effective food distribution programs and services. To date, $4.4 million dollars in Philabundance Capacity Grants have been allocated for capacity-building infrastructure, such as refrigerators, freezers, refrigerated vans and technology to empower community partners and improve the food distribution network.

“As federal resources continue to shrink and hunger remains a distressing reality in the Greater Philadelphia region, community-based nonprofits are often a lifeline for families in need of healthy food,” said Loree D. Jones Brown, CEO of Philabundance. “Investing directly in our partners and their infrastructure allows us to swiftly and efficiently meet the needs of thousands of our friends and neighbors experiencing food insecurity.”

“Breaking Bread on Broad is [very] grateful for the new refrigerators we will be able to purchase with our Philabundance grant,” said Dan Seltzer, co-leader of Breaking Bread on Broad (BBoB). “Breaking Bread on Broad is the food pantry of Congregation Rodeph Shalom whose mission is to provide our neighbors in need with food, diapers and period supplies each week. With this grant, we will be able to provide our BBoB neighbors with more fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein to better feed their families.”

“​​With this funding, Casa Del Carmen will invest in critical hardware—such as commercial refrigeration, durable shelving, metal prep-table and mini hand pallet jack—that will enhance the efficiency and reliability of our food pantry operations,” said Janet DeJesus, office manager at Casa Del Carmen. “These improvements will allow us to store more fresh and nutritious food, reduce waste, and serve our neighbors more quickly and with greater dignity. By strengthening our infrastructure, we are not only improving daily logistics but also deepening our commitment to food security and community well-being.”

2025 Justice for the Hungry Campaign Results

2025 Justice for the Hungry Campaign Results

Philabundance recently celebrated the 18 law firms that participated in the 2025 Justice for the Hungry campaign, during which law…
PHILABUNDANCE, THE GIANT COMPANY KICK OFF 2025 SUMMER LUNCHBOX PROGRAM

PHILABUNDANCE, THE GIANT COMPANY KICK OFF 2025 SUMMER LUNCHBOX PROGRAM

When school pauses for the summer, school-provided lunches pause with it. Philabundance and The GIANT Company fill that gap for…