April 06, 2020
Philabundance/Facebook
Flyers Charities donated $250,000 to Philabundance on Monday, the largest hunger relief organization in the Delaware Valley. The donation will help feed 160,000 people across the Philadelphia region.
Flyers Charities is donating $250,000 to Philabundance in an effort to help Philadelphians facing food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic.
The food bank, which is the largest hunger relief organization in the Delaware Valley, will be able to feed 160,000 people with the team's donation.
“Prior to COVID-19, approximately 700,000 people across our nine-county service area went to bed at night not knowing where their next meal would come from,” Sara Hertz, Chief Development Officer at Philabundance said in an emailed statement. “Several weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, that number is steadily increasing."
With the donation the organization will be able to stock up on shelf stable and perishable food items, Hertz said.
Philabundance recently partnered with the City of Philadelphia and Share Food Program to bring 40 food sites that offer free food to city residents. All sites are open from Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Residents are allowed one box of food per household, which can last up to five days.
On top of the monetary donation, Flyers Charities is also pledging to provide in-person support at the hunger-relief organization's distribution centers. The team, as well as Comcast Spectator, have long been supporters of the local food bank.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Sixers Youth Foundation donated $250,000 to the food bank last week, which brings the support from Wells Fargo Center sports teams to a whopping $500,000. This total donation will feed 320,000 people in the region.
On March 27, Sixers' point guard Ben Simmons started The Philly Pledge, a charity that donates to Philabundance and PHL COVID-19 Response, a nonprofit that partners with the United Way to offer assistance to those impacted by the pandemic. Several local athletes have donated to Simmons' cause, including Phillies' first baseman Rhys Hoskins, Eagles' tight end Zach Ertz, Sixers' forward Tobias Harris, as well as Flyers' captain Claude Giroux and goalie Carter Heart.
Additionally, Simmons' fellow teammates Al Holford and Joel Embiid have each donated $500,000 to coronavirus relief efforts.
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