Welcome

November 2007

To Our Friends in the Media:

This winter as energy costs continue to rise, residents in nearly 69,000 Philadelphia households might have to choose between heating and eating. In all of Southeastern Pennsylvania, there are nearly 122,000 households facing the same decision. For these families, there is no distraction from the issue of hunger—every meal means another late bill payment, or one more week without new winter coats for their kids. Sadly, these choices—and their consequences—go unnoticed by many in our community.

But our hungry neighbors are not alone. The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger works with the city's emergency food cupboards and soup kitchens to help ensure that hot meals and food packages continue to be available to families and individuals in need. By coordinating outreach programs, engaging in fundraising for emergency food providers, screening low-income residents for the USDA's food stamp benefit, and influencing public policy, the Coalition is supporting thousands of Philadelphia-area residents in their daily struggle to put enough food on their tables.

The Food Stamp Program is central to the Hunger Coalition's mission because of the overwhelming number of people in our community who qualify for these benefits but do not take advantage of them. Recent studies have shown that there are high concentrations of food stamp eligible individuals in Philadelphia's West, Northwest, and lower Northeast neighborhoods.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger needs your help in reaching out to our struggling neighbors. The pages of this press kit offer information on our organization and our efforts to alleviate the hunger problem our community faces. Please consider telling this compelling story to your readers, viewers, and listeners—those who are lucky enough not to know hunger may be encouraged to help, and those who struggle with it every day will be reminded that they don't have to do it alone.

For further information, contact us at 215-430-0555 or via email at info@hungercoalition.org