National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week takes place from November 13 to 21, and is designed to draw attention to the hunger and homeless crisis in our local communities and across the country. Every day, many Philadelphians struggle to obtain basic necessities, like housing, food, and health care. This week, we’re highlighting some organizations that fight the hunger and homeless crisis in Philadelphia all year. These organizations offer life-changing support to provide nourishment, safe and stable housing, and tools to become self-sufficient. As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, this is a time to think about what we’re thankful for, while showing compassion and working to make a difference to those experiencing hunger and homelessness in our communities. Let’s show support this holiday season (and year-round) by browsing the donation, education, advocacy and volunteering opportunities below!

MANNA

MANNA uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal. Last year, MANNA touched over 85 different illnesses. By providing medically tailored meals and nutrition education, they empower people to improve their health and quality of life. MANNA thinks about food as medicine. They are the pharmacy for a prescribed diet plan, and they bring the meals directly to those in need. MANNA works in a counseling capacity with people to help them understand the nutrients they need for a more healthy lifestyle. Volunteers have been the heart of MANNA since they were founded. Each year more than 9,400 volunteers donate approximately 56,000 hours of their time in the MANNA kitchen. Together they chop, dice, cook, and package meals, enabling MANNA to provide meals and counseling at no cost to their clients.

You can support MANNA by volunteering your time.

Lutheran Settlement House

Established in 1902, Lutheran Settlement House is a non-profit, community-based organization committed to serving children, adults, and families living in Philadelphia. Over the past century, the programs and services offered by LSH have changed in response to the evolving needs of the community. However, the core mission of the Lutheran Settlement House - "to empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through an integrated program of social, educational, and advocacy services" - has remained constant. LSH provides food access, housing, senior, education and domestic violence survivor services. They provide support to families experiencing homelessness due to Philadelphia’s housing crisis and food assistance through a pantry and community meals.

You can get involved with LSH by making a donation or volunteering your time.

Bethesda Project

Bethesda Project provides life-changing services for thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. Their mission—to find and care for the abandoned poor and to be family with those who have none—is evident across their 16 locations, where they offer a home and safe environment where guests and residents can stabilize and regain their dignity and self-worth. For 42 years, Bethesda Project has been minimizing barriers to housing access, assisting individuals in becoming more stably housed, and connecting guests and residents with services in the community to help them achieve their goals.

Visit Bethesda Project’s website to learn more about how you can support their efforts.

Sharing Excess

Sharing Excess is scaling human compassion to meet a global challenge that had existed long before this idea was born. Founded in Philadelphia in 2018, their movement aims to address the crucial need for food by delivering regular surplus from grocers, restaurants, wholesalers, and farmers to communities experiencing food insecurity. Sharing Excess is powered by college students and recent grads. They have a variety of volunteer opportunities including Food Rescue, Pop Up & Distribution, and other virtual opportunities.

Grace Cafe

Grace Café is a restaurant-style community meal serving our communities’ most vulnerable residents and neighbors currently experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Grace Cafe is housed in The Center and they seek to connect people through creativity, compassion, and community engagement to generate and sustain resources; to produce and preserve community spaces; to assemble and organize creative people, to inspire social change, and to launch a monumental movement of the human spirit. Visit the Grace Cafe’s website to learn about volunteer opportunities.

VUPHL volunteers cooking meals for Lutheran Settlement House in November 2021.

Philabundance

Philabundance was founded in 1984 with a mission to drive hunger from our communities today and to end hunger for good. As part of Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks leading the fight against hunger in the United States, they distribute food through partnerships with over 350 agencies in the Philadelphia area. In addition to distribution, Philabundance works to reduce food waste, increase access to nutritious meals, and address the root causes of hunger. You can get involved with Philabundance by volunteering, hosting a fundraiser, making a donation or hosting a food drive.

Project HOME

Project HOME has worked for over 30 years to empower Philadelphians to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Project HOME stands for Housing, Opportunities for employment, Medical care, and Education. They provide housing and support services, coordinate street outreach coverage for those living on the street, and offer subsidized housing for those experiencing homelessness. They provide computer classes, career training, job readiness workshops, life skills workshops, GED classes, adult basic literacy classes and access to other resources to help people gain employment and pursue higher education. They address the health and wellness needs of people who are currently or formerly homeless, including primary care, psychiatric services, nurse care management, counseling and more. Through their Honickman Learning Center Comcast Technology Labs (HLCCTL), they provide educational programs for at-risk children, youth, and families. Additionally, they work with city, state, and national organizations to impact public policies and advocate for human and civil rights for persons who are poor, homeless, and/or disabled. You can get involved with Project HOME by making a financial or in-kind donation, volunteering, responding to homelessness in your community or participating in their political advocacy efforts.