The Road to Success: Highlights of a 10 Year History

What follows is a timeline highlighting what the Coalition has achieved over the past ten years and how the support of its partners has laid the foundation for its successful education, outreach, and advocacy work today.

1996

Anti-hunger partners founded the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. The Coalition's first home is the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank.

1997

The Coalition begins to hold First Tuesday monthly roundtable meetings for community-based food providers, and leadership grows within these organizations.

The Coalition creates its newsletter, Feedback.

1998

The Coalition moves to the Farmers Market Trust (now The Food Trust).

The support of the Food Trust and several area funders provide the Coalition with seed money to professionalize the Walk Against Hunger. Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia develops the entire "recruitment" side of the Walk, inviting community organizations, faith-based institutions, students and others to participate. The Pro-Bono Committee for the Public Relations Society of America, Philadelphia Chapter, provides all PR assistance, a tradition that continues through 2003.

2000

The Coalition moves to its current location at the SHARE Food Program, and hires a second staff person.

At the request of Coalition partners, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation (PHMC) adds two food security questions to its Household Health Survey, thus allowing the Coalition to track local hunger and food insecurity in our area.

2001

The Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center grants the Coalition a subcontract to begin food stamp outreach in Philadelphia.

Sovereign Bank becomes the Title Sponsor of the Walk.

The Coalition hires its first Advocacy Coordinator and launches the faith-based Bring Food; Work for Justice campaign.

The Presbytery of Philadelphia sponsors the Coalition's first Americorps VISTA.

2002

The USDA awards one of nineteen nationwide two-year food stamp outreach grants to the Coalition, allowing another staff expansion. A major partner is the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania .

The Coalition publishes the Nourish Your Sole Community Cookbook and produces a CD, A Children’s Song. Both the cookbook and the CD offer unique fundraising opportunities for community-based food providers.

2003

FCF Schmidt Public Relations and Fleming & VanMetre Advertising adopt the Coalition for a year and provide pro bono public relations and advertising expertise for the Walk Against Hunger, the Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign, and the Coalition.

AC Moore, Inc. becomes Title Sponsor of the Walk Against Hunger, and continues that partnership for four years. Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church becomes a major sponsor of the Walk Against Hunger beginning a partnership that continues to grow to this day.

The Coalition institutes the Food Stamp Screening and Application Assistance Hotline (215-430-0556), and begins a SEPTA transit advertising campaign to publicize its new hotline.

SHARE provides two additional Americorps VISTA volunteers for the Coalition and continues to support the Coalition in numerous ways.

2004

Philadelphia's World Food Day Celebration moves from a Saturday to a Friday to be more inclusive of all in the community fighting hunger. At the event, the staff of Philadelphia Congressman Brady presents one of 25 nationwide Congressional Hunger Awards to the Coalition for its food stamp work.

The Coalition hires a community organizer to further its Building Bridges project with the Philadelphia County Assistance Office to increase food stamp participation.

2005

The Coalition makes a major decision to raise private funds to continue its Food Stamp Enrollment and Application Assistance Campaign despite the ending of the USDA grant in 2004.

2006

In celebration of the Coalition's 10th anniversary, the Coalition issues a Food Stamp Challenge to the community encouraging ordinary citizens, civic leaders and journalists to learn about the physical, emotional, and social difficulties of food insecurity and hunger by living on a food stamp budget for just one week.

The Coalition hires a Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign Director with the support of the William Penn Foundation.