| Dear Friends, At the Coalition Against Hunger, we pride ourselves on being a small but mighty team, where everyone’s contributions are an essential part of the work that we do. This is no different for the volunteers and interns that join us in our work. We are so excited to announce a few new members to our team, who we are sure will help us make an even greater impact in our work building food security throughout the Philadelphia region! Join us in welcoming: |
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|  | Abby Spector Volunteer Abby has joined our Coalition team as a volunteer for our SNAP Hotline. Abby will be helping us answer the calls we receive to the Hotline, complete client intake forms to start the process of a SNAP application or renewal, and direct clients to food pantries or other food resources near them. |
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 | Eliza Keefe Summer Intern Eliza is a student at the University of Pennsylvania and is a Fox Fellow as a part of the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program. She has joined us this summer to help us educate the public about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and our priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill. |
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 | McKenzie Scott Summer Intern McKenzie is a graduate student at Drexel University. She is studying to get her Masters of Public Health for Community Health and Prevention. She has joined us this summer to help us evaluate our trainings, improve our materials, and communicate with our food pantry partners about a new project in the works. |
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| We are looking for more volunteers! Here's how you can help: - SNAP Hotline - We need more volunteers to help on our Hotline like Abby. Read more about what this volunteer position entails, here.
- Race Against Hunger (Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023) - Help us make this year's Race a success, by volunteering your time on September 30th to help us with set up, clean up, check-in/registration, water hand out, and more.
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| | | | | Learn More About the SNAP Time Limit: A few weeks ago we shared the disappointing news that, as part of the agreement reached to raise the debt ceiling, Congress expanded the SNAP time limit to include individuals ages 50-54. But what exactly does that mean? The time limit is one of the most complex policies in SNAP. To help you understand more about this rule, its ineffectiveness, and the harmful assumptions that drive it, our Summer Fox Fellow, Eliza has been working on a Policy Brief about the time limit. |
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| While we hope that this brief helps you make sense of this policy, we want to remind you that Pennsylvania currently has a statewide Time Limit waiver until September 30, 2023. While PA has this waiver, the time limit will not apply to SNAP participants statewide. |
| In the upcoming Farm Bill, the legislation that includes SNAP, we will continue to push for the elimination of this harmful policy. To join our advocacy network, make sure that you are signed up for advocacy alerts! |
| | | | The Race Against Hunger will be here before you know it, and it’s a great way to join us in the work to build a more food secure Philadelphia region! Since our founding in 1996, we’ve held an annual 5K to elevate the visibility of food insecurity, to raise funds to support our work, and to provide a platform for our local pantry and soup kitchen partners to do the same. With the increasing cost of food, the loss of extra SNAP due to the end of pandemic Emergency Allotments, and the decrease of resources available at Philadelphia food banks, we are hearing even more need for resources. Register today to join us at the Race Against Hunger and help strengthen food access across Philadelphia. |
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| | We are so excited to announce that Cigna Healthcare has joined the Race Against Hunger as the Finish Line Sponsor. Thank you to Cigna Healthcare for your support and commitment to helping us build a community where all people have the food they need to live healthy lives. Interested in sponsoring the Race Against Hunger? |
| | | Free Summer Meals For Kids & Teens |
| | Free Summer Meals for kids and teens 18 and under are available all around the 5 county region (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery). While the Summer Meals Program is a great resource for many families who rely on free and reduced-price school meals, many families aren’t aware of just how close a summer meals site is to them or how they can access these sites. We are once again providing a dedicated Summer Meals Hotline (215-770-4659) and updating a Summer Meals Map weekly to help get families connected to these sites with no ID, no registration, and no proof of income needed. |
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| We could use your help spreading the word. Download our Summer Meals Toolkit to find some graphics and pre-written content to share. |
| | | | | County Assistance Office (CAO) - Temporary Closures |
| - Chelten District CAO - located at 201 E Chelten Avenue, 1st Floor will be temporarily closed starting Friday July 7, 2023 for approximately three weeks due to maintenance
- LIHEAP/LIHWAP and South District Office - both located at 1163 S. Broad Street will be temporarily closed starting Thursday July 13, 2023 for approximately three months due to maintenance.
Individuals can receive help with their benefits over the phone by calling the Customer Service Center at (215) 560-7226 (Philadelphia) or (877) 395-8930 (Statewide). If you need in-person assistance at a CAO, individuals affected by these closures can visit any CAO and receive service. For an up-to-date list of open CAOs, click here. |
| | |  |  | | A client completed a paper SNAP application and delivered it to the CAO. A few days later the client called to follow up on the application. He was told that there was no application on file, and to call us at the Coalition Against Hunger to have the application completed electronically. Our SNAP Hotline Manager completed the application. He was eligible for emergency benefits, so he went to the CAO to request an EBT card in person. When the client did this, he was told that they could not provide him with an EBT card because they still couldn't locate his paper application, even though an electronic version had been submitted for him. When he told us about this, our SNAP Hotline Manager immediately reached out to our liaison at the CAO and informed them of the issue and the inconvenience it had caused our client. The liaison quickly authorized the SNAP benefits and an EBT card was issued in person. If you or anyone you know in Philadelphia, Bucks or Chester County could use assistance with any of the above, our SNAP Hotline is here to help! Give us a call Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 9am-4pm at 215-430-0556 or visit our food pantry map. |
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| | | | There are so many great community events this summer. Here are a few we will be attending and sharing our resources at. We hope to see you there! - Lancaster Avenue Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 15th - From 12pm-7pm at Penn Presby’s West Philadelphia Saunders Park Greene, located at 39th and Powelton Avenue.
- Hunting Park Farmer’s Market hosted by The Food Trust on Saturday, July 22nd - The pop-up market is located at Old York Road & W. Hunting Park from 10am-2pm.
- Movies on the Block on Saturday, July 22nd - Come watch Luca! at the Lighthouse Sports and Entertainment Complex (101-199 E Erie Ave). Event starts at 6pm. Movie begins at 8:30pm.
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| | MAKE A STAND AGAINST HUNGER! We strive to build a community where all people have the food they need to lead healthy lives. Hunger is preventable. Thank you for your continued support of our work! The Coalition Against Hunger Team |
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| Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger
123 Chestnut Street Suite 401 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
215-430-0555 | [email protected] |
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