Philabundance, Walmart, and Sam’s Club fight hunger
Imagine a child going to bed hungry in America in 2026.
That’s the reality for one in six children in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, who face food insecurity, according to Philabundance, a nonprofit that delivers food to some 300 community partners.
With 19.7 percent of its residents living in poverty, Philadelphia had been the poorest big city in the country. But Houston now has that dubious honor, according to the U.S. Census. Philabundance joined Walmart and Sam’s Club through May 3 to boost donations through the 2026 “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign.
“Unfortunately, the need is increasing,” said Dorothy Wong, chief strategy officer for Philabundance. “In our region, there are over 700,000 individuals who are facing food insecurity, and in Philadelphia, it’s one in three children. The data is really showing that it’s moving in the wrong direction, and the need continues to rise.”
When school is out for the summer, children are even more in need of supplemental food.
“Which is why at Philabundance, we have designed and created a lot of special programs just to really tackle the increasing need during that time. We’ll be providing 75,000 meals to children through our summer meals program.”
They also do meal programs when schools are closed for winter and spring break, she added.
“We provide fresh snacks to a lot of our partners so that children have access to food during the school day as well,” said Wong.
The Walmart and Sam’s Club 13th annual Fight Hunger Spark Change campaign is “a national effort,” said Wong, saying she’s grateful for the giant retailers’ help.
“They directly support 27 of our community partners,” said Wong. Those partners include food pantries, hospitals, schools, and community centers “that distribute food directly to our neighbors,” she said.
They also work with local farmers who provide fresh, in-season produce for distribution, she said.
“Produce is one of the items that people, neighbors, and pantry partners ask for the most,” said Wong.
Philabundance has about 120 to 130 employees, whose efforts are bolstered by hundreds of volunteers.
“We really could not do the work that we do without our incredible volunteer network,” said Wong. They “volunteer at our warehouses, repacking food for us, sorting food for us. We actually give food directly to our pantry partners, and they come up to our docks and load food right into their trucks or vehicles.”
“We have a lot of volunteers that come to our community kitchen, whether it’s cutting food or packing meals,” she said. In the last fiscal year, they prepared and distributed about 500,000 meals that could be used fresh or frozen.
Loree D. Jones Brown, CEO of Philabundance, noted, “Last year, the organization distributed 44 million pounds of food, equivalent to 37 million meals, and rescued 28 million pounds of food through its Retail Rescue program.”
She thanked Walmart and Sam’s Club for their assistance.
“The Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign is built on the belief that small actions lead to significant impact. By partnering with Feeding America and its network of local food banks, Walmart and Sam’s Club are helping to bridge the gap for the millions of people facing food insecurity.
Every donation and participating purchase helps secure the food and resources families need to reach their full potential. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of our customers and members, and for the local food banks and relief agencies working on the front lines to serve our neighbors every single day,” said Julie Gehrki, senior vice president, philanthropy, Walmart Inc.
In the last 20 years, Walmart has made more than $300 million in investments and donated more than 9 billion pounds of food to Feeding
America’s network of local food banks and partner agencies.
Now through May 3, Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members can support Philabundance by purchasing participating products in store or online, donating and rounding up at checkout in-store or online, or giving directly online at Feeding America’s campaign page.
Since it began in 2014, the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign has helped secure more than 2.3 billion meals for people facing hunger across the U.S.
Linda Stein is an award-winning journalist who’s written for newspapers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Arizona. Before joining Fideri News Network, she was the news editor for Delaware Valley Journal. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Temple University and earned her undergraduate degree from Arcadia University. Contact her at lstein@fiderinews.com.
