PHILADELPHIA – JUNE 1, 2023 – On the first day of National Hunger Awareness Month, Share Food Program announced its first-ever capital campaign, The Campaign for Food Justice, a $35 million effort to revolutionize the future of food security and the nonprofit’s ability to combat the persistent and growing rates of hunger in the Greater Philadelphia region.
Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Board Chair and Campaign Co-Chair Tracey Specter and Executive Director George Matysik at Share’s Philadelphia headquarters to announce that the non-profit has already raised $28 million to update its facilities, including a $10 million gift from Specter and her husband, Shanin Specter, a $5 million grant from the William Penn Foundation, and a $3 million matching gift from Dr. Janet and John Haas.
“More than 1.2 million people in Pennsylvania worry about getting enough to eat every day,” said Governor Shapiro. “It is not okay that many of our neighbors don’t have access to healthy foods and go to bed hungry — that’s why I want to provide universal free breakfast in our schools and raise the minimum SNAP benefit, so more students, families, and seniors get the nutritious meals they need. I am grateful for our partners like the Share Food Program who are joining us in this vital work to make sure Pennsylvanians in and around Philadelphia can feed themselves and their families.”
Share operates out of a 100-year-old warehouse in North Philadelphia, and is currently renovating two additional satellite warehouses in Montgomery County and Delaware County as it bolsters its programming and reach, part of a combined $50 million regional initiative.
Since the COVID-19 crisis, Share has more than quadrupled its infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the community–but the current condition of its facility has lagged, hindering its ability to further expand capacity and critical hunger-relief services.
The updated facility will allow Share to increase efficiency, enhance the quality of service, and transform how it connects thousands more families with millions more pounds of food each month. Share Food Program currently nourishes families, seniors, and children
through a vast network of food pantries, direct home delivery, urban agriculture, food rescue and re-distribution, and in partnership with nearly 800 schools.
Share nourishes:
• 305,000 kids across 800 schools through National School Lunch Program
• Nearly 7,500 seniors served through Senior Food Box Program
• 4,500+ home-delivered boxes of food each month
“It’s been amazing to watch Share grow its staff, fleet of vehicles, and storage capacity as the need ballooned during the pandemic,” said Tracey Specter, who chairs the Board of Directors, where she has served since 2020. “Now Share’s built envi-
ronment has to catch up in order to continue growing our impact and to build a healthier, hunger-free future. We know this campaign is ambitious, but with $28 mil- lion already raised, I’m confident we can get there. Honestly, we don’t have any choice — it’s too important.”
“When people are hungry it interferes with their ability to be prepared in other areas of their life, like showing up to school ready to learn or being able to focus at work. It’s a critical, basic need that if not met, impacts other important areas of people’s lives,” said Kathy Christiano, Board Chair of the William Penn Foundation. “Share has doubled the number of people …,
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