BY PETER KEY

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition against Hunger said Tuesday it has received more than $100,000 from the Stroehmann Nourishing Neighbors campaign.

BY TERRY JOHNSON

Hunger used to track Curtis Guess as if he had stolen something from it.

When the hungry across the Delaware Valley are counted, Guess is among those numbers.

At lunchtime, he shows up at the Church of the Advocate on Diamond Street where he eats a free hot lunch in a dining room filled with mostly single men.

For dinner, Guess, 48, lines up at Bright Hope Baptist Church near Temple University, where he gobbles down his second hot meal of the day.

(Philadelphia, PA) — This weekend, ACME Markets will hold food drives at 10 Philadelphia area locations to benefit food pantries in their neighborhoods. In this economy, many families are seeking help with food for the first time, and local food pantries are struggling to meet the growing need in their communities.

ACME’s food drives are part of the Stroehmann Nourishing Neighbors™ campaign, which supports the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger’s efforts to provide more food and resources to area food pantries.

(Philadelphia, PA) — Mayor Michael Nutter will join the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger to honor the women and men who run the estimated 700 soup kitchens and food pantries in Philadelphia at the 2009 Hunger Fighter Awards. In his speech, Mayor Nutter will call for new ways to end hunger in the city, where a quarter of all residents live in poverty.

Thanks to a partnership among Stroehmann Bakeries, ACME Markets and Giant Food Stores, the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger has received more than $100,000 to provide more funding, food and resources to food pantries and
soup kitchens throughout the Philadelphia region.

Every day in the Philadelphia region, food pantries struggle to feed the growing number of families and seniors who turn to them for help. Local food pantries have seen a 33 percent increase in demand over the past year, while their costs have risen 20 percent due to rising food prices and fewer donations. “Because of the recession, people who never imagined they’d need help are turning to food pantries, but these programs are running out of resources to help them,” said Carey Morgan, Executive Director of the Coalition Against Hunger. “

More than $18 million in state funding for Pennsylvania food pantries is tied up in Harrisburg, as Gov. Ed Rendell, Sen. Dominic Pileggi and state lawmakers continue to squabble over the state budget. The budget impasse could soon result in less food and fewer services at Philadelphia pantries and soup kitchens, which serve an estimated 152,000 of the region’s most vulnerable
residents, including children, seniors and people with disabilities.

On July 7, the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger will host its annual Walk Against Hunger Celebration, where it will present nearly $140,000 in checks to 98 food pantries and soup kitchens. The event, which will also include a Soup Kitchen Cook-Off, will take place at Resurrection Baptist Church from noon to 2 p.m.