Physical Health United States Project #6868

Help hungry families afford the food they need

by Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger

Project Report | Mar 26, 2013
What does hunger look like in my community?

By Ronna Bolante | Project Leader

View our interactive map: www.hungerreportpa.com

Nearly 1.6 million. That’s the number of people in Pennsylvania who struggle to put food on the table every year.

More precisely, that figure represents the 1 in 8 residents considered to be “food insecure.” That means they don’t always have access to the food they need for an active, healthy life, according to the USDA..

Who is affected by food insecurity in Pennsylvania? What resources are available to people living with it? Most importantly, what more can we do to make sure they get the help that they need?

Last week, we released a report that aimed to answer these questions. The report, “State of Hunger: Pennsylvania 2013,” features an interactive map that, for the first time, makes data available on the number of residents who receive food assistance in all 67 counties.

Hunger exists in communities across Pennsylvania, though it’s easy to overlook. You probably wouldn’t know that a co-worker often goes home to an empty refrigerator. Or that the boy in your child’s class can’t concentrate because he hasn’t had breakfast. Or that the cashier at your grocery store worries about being able to pay for enough food for his own family.

“The report paints a vivid picture of how important programs like SNAP (food stamps) and school meals are to every community in Pennsylvania,” says Julie Zaebst, the Coalition's interim executive director. "But it also reminds us that far too many people who struggle with hunger aren’t participating in these vital programs. As a state, we must ensure more residents get the help they need."

Thanks to supporters like you, the Coalition has helped more than 50,000 families apply for SNAP and other food assistance programs over the past decade. We're also able to support more than 100 food pantries and soup kitchens, so they can serve more low-income families and seniors in neighborhoods across the Philadelphia region.

And we work with community members to raise awareness about ways we can all fight hunger in our backyard.

This report is one way that everyday citizens can get involved.

Visit www.hungerreportpa.com to:

View our interactive map to see how many people rely on food assistance in each county.
Download the report and county fact sheets to educate your community about hunger.
Use our online tools to contact elected officials in Pennsylvania.

Hunger is an overwhelming issue, but it’s a solvable one. In a country as wealthy as the United States, we have plenty of food to nourish every resident.

We hope this report offers you more insight into the challenges we face in ending hunger and what more we can all do to make it a reality.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

School meals are vital to many low-income children

More than 1 in 8 PA residents are food insecure.

Links:

Interactive map: "State of Hunger: Pennsylvania 2013"

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Dec 14, 2012
Fighting Hunger Block by Block

By Ronna Bolante | Project Leader

Nicetown community volunteers

If you couldn't afford enough food for your family, where would you go for help?

Every year, more than 6,000 people call our Food Assistance Hotline. Some of them saw a flyer at the unemployment office; others heard our PSAs on the radio. Some were lucky enough to have family or friends to refer them.

But for every person who calls us, there are many more who need help but have no idea where to find it.

That’s why we started “Fighting Hunger Block by Block.” The goal: To reach struggling families in Philadelphia’s highest-need areas by raising awareness in their communities about the help that’s available to them.

In recent months, the Coalition Against Hunger has focused on the Nicetown section of North Philadelphia—an area where more than 1 in 3 residents live in poverty. For a family of four, that means getting by on about $23,000 a year.

We’ve talked with Nicetown residents and community leaders at town hall meetings, resource fairs and back-to-school nights. We’ve enlisted neighborhood organizations, places of worship, schools, and businesses to join our network and educate the people they serve about resources in their community.

We even went door to door to equip as many people as possible with information on food assistance—including how to apply for SNAP (food stamps), where to find their nearest food pantries, how to enroll their kids in free school meals, and where they could buy affordable produce.

Every community member needed to know: Help is here if you need it.

What’s more, we wanted the entire neighborhood to play a role in spreading that message, especially to those who needed it most.

Supporters like you make it possible for us Fight Hunger Block by Block in Philadelphia. And with your help, we’ll continue to work hard to reach every person who needs help putting food on the table in every community.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Going door to door in Nicetown

Mother-son volunteer team in Nicetown

Philly Eagles encourage students to fight hunger

Links:

"PA Tackling Hunger Block by Block," Public News Service

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Sep 13, 2012
Life after the Recession

By Ronna Bolante | Project Leader

The Coalition helps 7,000 families every year.

As you’ve probably heard, the U.S. Census reported that nearly 1 in 6 Americans--46.2 million people--lived in poverty in 2011.

For an individual, poverty means living on just over $11,000 a year. For a family of four, that figure is less than $23,000 a year.

By now, numbers like these shouldn’t surprise us. Although the recession is over, we know it doesn’t feel that way for millions of Americans.

That’s where supporters like you have made all the difference.

Your support helps the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger ensure families can afford the food they need while they get back on their feet. Every day, we hear from people stung by the recession—mothers who’ve been out of work for a over a year, fathers scraping by on part-time work, and retired seniors who worry about rising food prices at the grocery store.

With your support, we’ve helped people like husband and wife Don and Michelle Adams and their three teenage boys. Between Don’s job as a part-time mail sorter and Michelle’s as a restaurant cashier, the family earns less than $18,000 a year--well below the poverty threshold for a family of five.

“I realized we needed help when my oldest son came home from school one day, open the fridge, and there was hardly anything there,” Michelle says. “Instead of complaining, he just closed the refrigerator. He didn’t say a word.”

The Coalition helped Michelle’s family apply for food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Every year, we assist nearly 7,000 families in Pennsylvania, connecting them with nutrition programs, food pantries, and other services that can help them make ends meet as our nation's economy continues to improve.

And there is no way we could do it without supporters like you.

Thank you, as always, for your commitment in the fight against hunger.

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