The city’s leading hunger relief organization celebrated a major milestone that would make mom proud.
Philabundance marked its 40th anniversary on May 11, just in time for Mother’s Day weekend. The organization, founded on Mother’s Day in 1984, has been providing healthy food to local communities for four decades.
Yes, there was cake. But Philabundance used the opportunity to host a special birthday volunteer repack event to make sure local kids celebrate and experience joy on their birthdays. Volunteers were hard at work at the Philabundance Galloway Hunger Relief Center in South Philly to help build 1,000 Birthday Boxes, which included cake mix, brownie mix, baking supplies, candles and other items needed for a birthday celebration. The birthday boxes will then be distributed to community partners and others in need via Philabundance’s Agency Express service in the coming weeks.
“What’s really special about today is it’s Mother’s Day weekend, and for many of us, our moms always made our birthdays very special, but the reality is, for people who are food insecure across this region, their moms don’t get to make their birthdays really special,” said Philabundance CEO Loree Jones Brown. “They’re making those tough choices whether to buy medicine and pay rent or buy food for their families. Buying a birthday cake is not necessarily in the budget, especially in these trying times. So, while we celebrate our 40th birthday here at Philabundance, we’re going to help kids across the region celebrate their birthdays, too.”
The celebration didn’t stop there. Several city landmarks acknowledged Philabundance’s contributions by turning Philly green with lights shining Philabundance’s iconic color. CIRA Centre South, PECO Crown Lights, Boathouse Row, the Ben Franklin Bridge, Lincoln Financial Field and many other sites took part in the show of green.
