Philabundance Helping Put Food On Tables Of Families Across Area
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - With Thanksgiving less than a week away, many are thinking about how to help our friends and neighbors in need. Philabundance makes it really easy to contribute, whether it's through your time, goods or money, all of it makes a real impact.
It takes many hands working together to feed 90,000 people a week in the Philadelphia area. Longtime volunteer Carol Williamson is among them.
"It's very rewarding to think that this food, this can that you're handling, the head of broccoli, the ear of corn, that is all going to end up on someone's table within a number of days," Williamson said during a shift at the agency's South Philadelphia warehouse.
The massive undertaking of collecting, sorting and distributing food happens year-round at Philabundance, but is amplified around the holidays.
Director of Communications Stef Arck-Baynes says food drives for the most needed items help fill the demand.
"Those items include peanut butter, beans, whole grain pasta, pretty much anything you would want to buy for your family, those are items we are looking for for our communities," she said.
If you're not able to volunteer or host a food drive, Philabundance now has an even easier way to support its mission.
"Philabundance has a new line of products called Abundantly Good," Arck-Baynes said. "For every purchase of Abundantly Good, money goes back to Lancaster farmers, so that they can make more food that we then distribute to people who are in need."
The line of locally produced cheeses and jams can be purchased at Di Bruno Brothers or at the TBJ Gourmet tent at Philadelphia's Christmas Village. Direct cash donations also go a long way to ensure that the greatest number of people have access to healthy food.
"There's hunger in every zip code. People, our friends and neighbors and all immediately in this area," Williamson said. "It feels good to know that you're helping out."
Philabundance is fully-staffed for volunteers for the rest of the year, but January and February are when they will need many extra hands to process food drive donations. Visit their website for more information on how you can help.
