A volunteer packs bags of food for clients at St. Mark's Food Cupboard in Center City.

A map of the 120-plus food pantries and soup kitchens surveyed by Coalition for its annual needs-assessment survey. Click map for larger view.

Every year, the Coalition surveys food pantries and soup kitchens to assess the needs of Philadelphia’s feeding programs. From the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2011, the Coalition completed 124 surveys of programs that provide food to low-income residents in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia.

Last year, nearly half (43%) of Philadelphia’s food pantries and soup kitchens did not have enough food to meet the soaring need in their communities.

At least 411,075 residents in Philadelphia received food from a food pantry in 2010, a 30% increase from the year prior, according to the SHARE Food Program. More than a third of those residents were children.

Moreover, funding for the State Food Purchase Program, which enables counties to buy and distribute food to local food pantries, has not kept up with soaring demand. Since the recession began in 2007, Pennsylvania has slashed the SFPP budget, dramatically reducing the amount of food available to people in need.

The Coalition’s 2010 survey found:

Increased Need Across Demographic Groups:
Need for food surged in 2010, especially among certain vulnerable populations, including children and seniors.

• 56% of food pantries and soup kitchens served more children in 2010 than in the previous year. That’s considering that the Coalition’s 2009 survey found that 54% of programs were already serving more children than in the year before.
• 54% of programs served more elderly clients in 2010. In 2009, 46% of programs reported serving more seniors than in the year prior.  
• 27% of programs reported an increase in the number of clients who were employed.

Insufficient Resources and Personal Sacrifices:
Nearly half (43%) of programs did not have enough food to meet demand.

• 26% of food pantries and soup kitchens turned people away because they did not have enough food to give them.
• 43% had to cut back on the amount of food they distributed per client. 
• 76% of food pantry and soup kitchen coordinators responded that they spend their personal money on the programs they run.

Concern about Clients’ Health and Nutrition:
More food pantries and soup kitchens (83%) want to improve the nutritional quality of the food they serve. When asked how best to accomplish that goal:

• 70% said their program would need more fruits and vegetables.
• 63% wanted more nutritious canned and dried food. 
• 42% wanted nutrition education for their clients. 
• 37% wanted nutrition education for their staff and volunteers.

Increased Willingness to Work Together:
More than half (52%) of programs either know of or work with other feeding programs in their area. That’s up from just 31% of programs in 2009, when the Coalition founded the Victory in Partnership (VIP) Project to network food pantries and soup kitchens within their communities.