PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- A new program to provide free food distribution to low-income seniors in southeast Pennsylvania will be launched by the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank in May. The Food Bank is inviting nonprofit organizations that serve people over age 60 in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties to apply for Food Bank membership in order to access this new government commodities program.
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides nutritious USDA foods to supplement the diets of at-risk populations, including pregnant women, children, and now the elderly. The Food Bank program will be the largest commodities program for seniors in Pennsylvania, providing more than 4,000 food boxes designed to provide the nutrients generally lacking in the diets of poor seniors.
"Each month, we will be distributing to charities a quantity of free food boxes, containing such items as cheese, beans, fruit, juice, cereals, canned meat, canned milk, pasta, and vegetables," said Jo Ann E. Connelly, president of the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank. The charity will then distribute the boxes to their eligible seniors," she added.
Eligible seniors must be at least 60 years of age and have a household income at 130% of the federal poverty level, or $11,768 or less for one person; $15,883 for two people. While many of the distributing charities will already be members of the Food Bank, the largest distributor of donated food to charities that feed the needy in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Food Bank is encouraging other programs to join the Food Bank to take advantage of both the CSFP as well as the broader food distribution programs it offers.
"This is an opportunity for nonprofits throughout Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties that haven't benefited from Food Bank membership to join our network," Connelly said. "I urge any charitable organization that is serving low-income seniors to consider adding this convenient food distribution program to their services. With l/3 of Philadelphia's senior citizens living in poverty and the severe toll that hunger and malnutrition have on them by exacerbating chronic and acute diseases, we know that this program will be a valuable asset to southeast Pennsylvania's elderly population," she concluded.
Nonprofits interested in learning more about the benefits of Food Bank membership and the CSFP should contact Jennifer Rose at 215-739-7394 x 130 or email her at jrose@gpfb.org.
The Greater Philadelphia Food Bank company logo is available at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=360