May 11, 2009

Philabundance Rolls Out “Emergency Relief Initiative” to Meet the Growing Need for Food in the Delaware Valley

800 Food Help Line and Ebox Programs Will Help Improve Access to Emergency Food

PHILADELPHIA -- May 11, 2009 – Philabundance is rolling out its Emergency Relief Initiative (ERI) to meet the growing demand for food in the Delaware Valley. ERI is made up of new and expanded programs that will help more people by providing 1.5 million additional meals between now and the end of the year.

The Emergency Relief Initiative (ERI) will improve the access the community has to emergency food while increasing the amount of food going into direct service programs and through Philabundance’s network of agencies. Philabundance’s nearly 600 agencies made up of neighborhood distributions and shelters are seeing an increase in need of 30 percent this year. ERI’s programs are built on three key strategies including “Enhancing Emergency Access” to food for people in need primarily through a new 800 Food Help Line and Emergency Food Boxes, “Increasing Food Distribution” through Philabundance’s new and expanded programs, and “Increasing Food Acquisition” through food purchasing and urban gleaning.

“Philabundance created the Emergency Relief Initiative to widen the safety net, to get more food to more people when they need it” said Bill Clark, Philabundance’s president and executive director. “The unstable economy has created an escalating need that is putting more stress on our network of agencies that can’t meet the growing demand for food. Philabundance has expanded our services through ERI to give people more support to help them get through these turbulent times.”

Food Help Line

Philabundance has established an 800 Food Help Line – 800-319-FOOD (3663) as part of ERI’s strategy of improving the emergency access to food. The new Food Help Line provides the community with a single number to call for food assistance. The Food Help Line is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A dedicated bilingual Philabundance staff member answers calls and refers callers to a food cupboard near their residence that is accepting new clients. If a satisfactory food referral is not available, callers are directed to pick up an Emergency Food Box (EBox) to tide them over until they can be connected with another resource. As part of a citywide emergency response effort, the City of Philadelphia’s new 311 Service will give out Philabundance’s Food Help Line number.

Emergency Food Box (Ebox)

Emergency Food Box (Ebox) is a program Philabundance developed to respond to the increasing emergency calls from people who need immediate access to food. An Ebox serves as an immediate aid to hold a family over until Philabundance can connect them with ongoing food assistance through an agency within the network. Households can only receive an Ebox once because it is an emergency measure that is not meant to serve as an on-going source of food.

Eboxes weigh 30 pounds and contain shelf-stable food for three meals for a family of four to last for about three days. E-Boxes usually contain the following items: hot and cold breakfast cereals, shelf-stable milk, canned meat and fish, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and jelly, bagged/boxed grains, macaroni and cheese. The boxes also contain information on agencies in the client’s area that can provide assistance on an on-going basis.

Philabundance’s network of close to 600 agencies is made-up of food cupboards, shelters and emergency kitchens. The lack of immediate assistance available through the current network often results in an emergency food situation. Many food cupboards are at maximum capacity and are not accepting new clients. As a result, they do not actively perform outreach or make their services visible to individuals other than their regular clients. Food cupboards may only be open a few days a week and offer limited hours of operation to people seeking help. Eboxes will widen the safety net to help the 900,000 people in the Delaware Valley in need of food assistance.

Ebox sites do not accommodate walk-ins, since clients must be referred by Philabundance. Areas currently lacking a food cupboard are top priority for Philabundance as it grows the number of Ebox locations throughout the Delaware Valley. Ultimately, the goal is for food to be easily accessible to someone that needs immediate food in their community.

Fresh For All Expansion

Philabundance’s Fresh For All is a direct service program that puts fresh produce into the hands of those who need it most. It will double in size as part of the ERI to accommodate the growing need for nutritious food and lack of access to produce. Like a traveling farmer’s market, Fresh For All returns to the same site every week at the same time and day - establishing dependable access to produce. FFA currently has six sites operating in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Delaware Counties and will be adding six new sites by the fall to address the growing need for food.

In addition to the current 7000 households being served by FFA, Philabundance anticipates that the six new sites could give 9000 additional households access to free, fresh produce. The average FFA site serves 1800 children, which will mean that with the six new sites, 10,800 additional children will be served. The six new sites will allow Philabundance to serve about 4500 more individuals per week. In April FFA exceeded cumulative distribution of 1 million pounds since the program’s inception in December 2007.

Community Food Center

In partnership with Saint Joseph’s University and the Mayor’s Office of Community Service (MOCS), Philabundance is piloting the Community Food Center program in the bottom floor of the Philadelphia Library-Lehigh Branch at 2700 N. 6th Street. The CFC will be a food pantry following a “choice model” of distribution, meaning that clients choose from available items, rather than receiving a prepared bag or box. Choice food cupboards promote client dignity and respect.

CFC will offer non-perishable goods and 34 percent of the inventory will be produce. Fruits and vegetables are not easily accessible and too expensive for many people to buy. The goal of the CFC pilot is to serve 250 households per week with 40 pounds each of donated food, or 520,000 pounds per year. Philabundance will gain valuable hands-on knowledge and intends to later assist existing agencies to launch choice cupboards at their locations. CFC is schedule to open this summer.

To further increase food distribution to underserved areas, Philabundance is kicking off a strategic effort to distribute produce to Philabundance’s network agencies as equitably as possible, especially to underserved areas in Philadelphia.

Philabundance also has two new initiatives to secure more food to provide additional pounds of food for distribution in the Delaware Valley. This initiative expands two areas, Urban Gleaning and Food Purchasing.

Although still in its infancy, Urban Gleaning involves a weekly pickup from retail grocers to acquire food that would otherwise be discarded. The Philabundance Food Fund allows donors to support Philabundance by giving money specifically for food purchases in lieu of holding traditional food drives. This fund will provide an easy device to receive, process, and administer additional funds the community may make available for food purchasing.

The Philabundance Emergency Relief Initiative was developed to meet the growing challenge of increased need for food assistance in the Delaware Valley. In the coming months Philabundance will increase food distribution by phasing in new sites for programs such as Fresh for All. ERI will also improve emergency access to food through the Food Help Line and EBoxes. Philabundance will continue to rely on the support of the Delaware Valley community to help ensure that no Delaware Valley man, woman or child goes to bed hungry.

For more information on Philabundance’s Emergency Relief Initiative, visit www.philabundance.org or call 215-339-0900.

Philabundance is the region’s largest hunger relief organization fighting hunger and malnutrition in the Delaware Valley. Philabundance provides a full plate of services to close to 600 member agencies in 10 counties, who serve approximately 900,000 low income residents. Philabundance provides food to approximately 65,000 people per week, at an aggregate cost of less than 30 cents per meal. In 2008, Philabundance, distributed 17 million pounds of food in the Delaware Valley. For more information about Philabundance, call 215-339-0900 or visit www.philabundance.org.

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