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 launching initiatives like Philabundance Community Kitchen, introducing sustainability efforts, and, mostly recently, an expansion of our mission to include a focus on Ending Hunger for Good. Today, we are excited to announce a new initiative that will benefit our community for years to come.
To kick-off 2022, Philabundance is recommitting to our mission by announcing the launch of our Good Food Policy. This policy is reflective of our passion for nourishing our community in sustainable and healthy ways. It will help us to serve our neighbors better than ever before.
What is our Good Food Policy?
Philabundance’s Good Food Policy is a commitment to providing the communities we serve with the foods they want and deserve. It is our pledge to offer the flavors, tastes, and ingredients they know and love. It is also a chance for us to emphasize healthy and nutritious foods that will help our communities thrive.
Our Good Food Policy consists of offering food that adheres to four pillars:
 | Nutritious: providing all people, regardless of income, with access to the food necessary for an active, healthy life. |
 | Culturally Responsive: offering connections to families, cultures, and communities through familiar and beloved foods. |
 | Equitably Sourced: intentionally choosing to purchase food from businesses that reflect our values and represent a diverse blend of local, minority, and women-owned businesses. |
 | Accessible: partnering with organizations that can help us ensure the right food reaches the right people at the right time. |
How will it be done?
Our initial focus will be on the first pillar of this policy: nutritious food. To do this, Philabundance plans to transition to using the Healthy Eating Research (HER) Guidelines to measure the nutritional value of our food. These guidelines are supported by our partner and national hunger relief organization, Feeding America.
Additionally, we have already made progress on the second pillar: culturally responsive food. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Philabundance to think differently about how do our work. Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to increase the amount of food we purchase directly at a time when food donations were minimal due to supply chain disruptions and high demand. This gave us more control over the product we could offer to our partners.
We surveyed our partners to identify items most wanted by our community. We used their input to help guide purchases and will continue to seek feedback moving forward.
How is it different?
Historically, Philabundance evaluated success by measuring and tracking the number of pounds of food we distributed. We’ve come to realize that relying on this metric results in telling only a small portion of our story. Now, we’re putting a bigger emphasis on the quality of our food rather than just quantity.
An example of this is tea, an item requested by those we serve but carries little weight. Now thanks to the generosity of our donors we are able to purchase this product. Additionally, as we put more focus on what the community wants and not just the weight or amount of food we distribute our team will be able to assess sought after items as high value. We believe our community’s wants must carry more weight, and we are now better resourced to honor that request.
We are excited to further develop our Good Food Policy and are grateful to be in a place to better provide for our community. We continue to learn more about hunger in our region and beyond, and as always, remain fully committed to driving hunger from our communities.
You can contribute to this exciting work by donating today. Thank you for being a friend to Philabundance!
