As food prices continue to rise and we’re all feeling the pinch in the grocery stores, Esperanza and other organizations in Philadelphia are taking notice and working to respond to the community’s needs.
Last month, Chobani, La Colombe and other companies participated in an annual sales conference in downtown Philadelphia. While at the conference, on August 20th, conference attendees packed almost 75,000 meals, including a Spanish Rice variety. These meals were a good choice for families looking for something quick and easy, where you can add proteins and sides for a complete and balanced meal.
In early August, Chobani reached out to Esperanza to see if 11,000 of those meals could be donated to us for distribution in Hunting Park, as well as other partners. Esperanza was quick to respond and coordinate the pick-up and distribution of the meals, to benefit our students and their families at Esperanza’s schools and residents in the neighborhood.
Esperanza wanted to share this opportunity with other partners. They reached out to Small Things, a food distribution hub in Roxborough born out of Liberti Church East that is committed to fighting poverty by improving food security. Small Things was ready to pick up and distribute the extra meals. Barbara Delp, Director of Operations at of Small Things, remarked that, “The meals were really well received, they were easy to eat and most importantly nutritious. Multiple partners, especially our free grocery store that we run in Fairhill, benefited from the donated meals.” Small Things has been operating since 2010 and distributes about 50,000 meals a week across Philadelphia, with 50+ partner organizations collaborating as distribution sites.
The meals were picked up on August 21st and divided between Esperanza, Small Things, and the Salvation Army. Most of Esperanza’s meals went to Esperanza Academy, who distributed them to families as part of their back-to-school activities.
As part of Esperanza’s COVID-19 pandemic emergency response in 2020, our Housing and Economic Development team partnered with Small Things to distribute food on a monthly basis in Hunting Park, at the 5th Street Community Garden. Dominic Moret, who helps to coordinate this event, told me that “We find that households with 2+ generations really benefit from the distributions. They are able to supplement their regular grocery lists with what we hand out.”
Esperanza, Small Things and others involved are grateful to Chobani for their donation and continue to engage around issues of food security and poverty.
