Blog

Good Morning. My name is Kathy Fisher, and I am the Policy Manager at the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. Thank you, for taking the time to consider this very important resolution, to all of its sponsors, and to Councilwoman Blackwell for inviting me to testify today.

The Coalition works to build a community where all people have the food they need to lead healthy lives. We connect families with SNAP (Food Stamps) and other food resources, provide food pantries capacity building assistance; and, advocate for policies that improve access to nutrition supports.

By Laura Wall

One in four people in Philadelphia face food insecurity. An alarming half of the children in poverty — nearly one in five of the city's children — live in deep poverty. The recent economic crisis is still very much a reality for many families in our region.

Working to positively impact this are an estimated 700 Philadelphia food pantries and soup kitchens, which provide food for hundreds of thousands of people each year.

The task is daunting: More than 300,000 people in Philadelphia alone face food insecurity. But together we can work to end hunger. Here are five simple ways that provide immediate, short-term, and long-term relief in the fight against hunger.