WITH A REACH of 700,000 people monthly, Share Food Program is the Philadelphia region’s largest hunger relief organization. This nonprofit started as a co-op food buying program in 1986, “long before the idea of food deserts,” according to executive director George Matysik. In the last three decades, Share has grown by leaps and bounds.
Today, the organization distributes 35 million pounds of nutritious food annually through a longstanding network of food pantries in Philadelphia and the suburbs. “If a pantry is handing out food, chances are it’s coming from Share Food Program,” Matysik says. Share’s 500 pantries offer free, nutritious food and staples, such as fruits, vegetables, rice, frozen fish, chicken, milk and bottled water.
Share also distributes school lunch products for 795 schools in the region (reaching 305,000 kids), sells food at wholesale prices through farm stands at more than 50 public schools and provides immediate food assistance to anyone who walks through the door at its Nicetown headquarters.
How does Share make all this happen for a city where one in five residents struggles with hunger? “With a staff of just 25 people,” Matysik says, “[and] an amazing network of 10,000 volunteers [who] are essential to daily operations.” Since none of Share’s programs generate revenue for the organization, charitable contributions are also crucial to sustaining its work.
Those experiencing hunger or wishing to volunteer or make a donation should call Share or visit its website.
SHARE FOOD PROGRAM
2901 W. Hunting Park Ave., Philadelphia
sharefoodprogram.org
