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A PARTNERSHIP BUILT ON SHARED MISSION
Feeding
Philadelphia
Together.
Vernita and the entire WSFS Bank team, thank you for your continued support over the years. Your commitment to community is more important than ever amid the unprecedented food crisis we're facing. The need exists everywhere, but together we can make a direct impact right here in our own backyard across the Delaware Valley. Thank you for stepping up in this fight against hunger.
From our Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market hub
This is what your generosity has helped make possible.
45M
pounds redistributed
37M
meals made possible
$86M
in food value delivered
163M
GHG emissions diverted
500+
community distribution partners
1M+
Delaware Valley neighbors fed annually
All of this impact in just four years.
Reaching high-need areas with fresh produce.
THE SIGNAL
Demand is higher than ever.
Despite real progress over the last four and a half years, the market floor and the neighborhoods we serve keep telling us the same thing.
THE RESPONSE
We need to grow our logistical capacity.
To receive more food and feed more neighbors across the Delaware Valley, we have to expand the infrastructure that moves produce from the market floor to the communities that need it.
Many households are struggling to put food on the table due to the surging cost of living and essentials. Every donation, no matter how small, can make a big difference.
Vernita L. Dorsey
SVP, Director of Community Strategy · WSFS Bank (October 2024 Food Drive launch)
1 in 4
Philadelphians experience food insecurity, the highest rate of any large U.S. city
1 in 3
Philadelphia children live in food-insecure households
+60%
increase in food pantry visits across the region since 2019
20+
Philly community partners on our waitlist today
Sources: Pew Charitable Trusts, State of the City · Drexel Hunger Free Center · Share Food Program
ON THE GROUND · RIGHT NOW
The federal floor is dropping out. The line at the door keeps growing.
Since H.R. 1 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — took effect, SNAP has been quietly contracting. Expanded work requirements began phasing in on March 1, 2026, fuel and food prices have spiked since the Iran conflict, and our partner pantries are absorbing the hit. This is what we’re seeing at the produce market and across our community partners week by week.
~140K
Philadelphians at risk of losing or seeing reduced SNAP benefits under the new federal work requirements and OBBBA changes.
Pennsylvania DHS / Share Food Program, 2026
$1B+
Estimated annual SNAP funding cut from Pennsylvania over the next decade under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
PA Governor's Office, 2025
+60%
Increase in food pantry visits across the Philadelphia region since 2019. Every dollar burned at the pump pulls another dollar out of rescue and distribution.
Share Food Program, 2026
20+
Philly community organizations sitting on our waitlist today, partners telling us their shelves empty faster than they can restock.
Sharing Excess Philadelphia ops, 2026
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Expanded SNAP work requirements under H.R. 1 began phasing in March 1. Recipients are getting cut off mid-month, missing recertification deadlines, or self-deselecting because the paperwork burden has gotten too heavy. The dollars that used to buy a week of groceries are now buying three or four days.
Diesel costs have climbed sharply since the Iran conflict, raising the price of every pallet moved and every grocery run a family makes. Hourly workers are absorbing higher commutes and higher checkout totals at the same time — and showing up at pantries that used to only see weekend visitors.
Our partners report longer lines, earlier closures, and a steady arrival of first-time visitors — full-time workers, seniors on fixed incomes, families with kids — people who were managing six months ago and aren't now. Twenty organizations are already on our waitlist asking for regular pickups we can't yet serve.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US
Every dollar pulled from SNAP, every cent added to diesel, and every new family in the pantry line lands directly on our dock at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market.
Rescued produce is one of the fastest, highest-leverage ways to backfill what the federal safety net is taking off the table. Growing our network right now isn’t optional, it’s the difference between a family putting a plate on the table at night and turning families away. We’re looking to open a centralized community space that gives our neighbors the resources they need in these trying times.
Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services · PA Governor's Office · Share Food Program · Pew Charitable Trusts, State of the City · Sharing Excess Philadelphia operations (2026).
What we need to meet the moment
The Philadelphia Community Hub.
A significant expansion of our capacity to serve the city and the surrounding region. Not simply a warehouse, but a living, active center for food access, volunteerism, and community education.
The Vision
A Place to Share
$120,000 / year
We're inviting WSFS Bank to underwrite the annual rent for a community center that expands on our previous Sharehouse. We're seeking a multi-year commitment that gives the space the stability to grow and sustain community support.
This is a natural extension of WSFS's commitment to go “deeper, not wider” in the communities you already serve, turning a longstanding partnership into a permanent neighborhood anchor across the Delaware Valley.
Note: $120,000 reflects a fair annual estimate based on comparable spaces we've evaluated. We'll report back with a finalized number as we lock in the facility.
Core Functions of the Hub
Volunteer Operations Center
Accommodates up to 50 volunteers at a time, open to community groups, corporate volunteer teams, and Sharing Excess college chapters.
Staging & Logistics Hub
Centralized space for pop-ups, mobile markets, and food distributions throughout the Delaware Valley.
Community Programming
A welcoming space for educational initiatives, partner activations, and neighborhood gatherings.
A WSFS PARTNERSHIP WITHIN THE HUB
Two programming tracks where WSFS Bank's mission and Sharing Excess's reach intersect directly inside the community hub.
Track 01
WSFS Financial Literacy Programming
Use the community hub to host WSFS-led financial literacy classes for community members, pairing food access with financial empowerment in a single trusted space.
- Brings financial education programming directly to the Sharing Excess community audience.
- Reinforces WSFS's community development mission and CRA commitments.
- Creates a recurring, visible presence for WSFS within the hub.
Track 02
Nutrition & Culinary Education
Programming that goes beyond food distribution, teaching community members how to prepare and enjoy the fresh produce they receive. We would partner with organizations such as Healthy Food for Healthy Kids to deliver hands-on cooking education.
- Teach children and families how to prepare fresh produce, including items they may be unfamiliar with.
- Introduce community members to new foods, flavors, and preparation techniques.
- Connects the act of receiving food to the knowledge and confidence to use it well.
The Impact of Your Investment
A true community gathering place in the heart of the Delaware Valley.
This hub becomes more than a warehouse. It becomes a place neighbors can walk into when they need food, a place to learn about Sharing Excess, and a place to host events that do good for the community. Food is the front door to everything else.
"Food insecurity disrupts every corner of society's framework, public health, education, social wellbeing, the economy, community development. In a city where hundreds of thousands of our neighbors are battling hunger, we have to fight for them and we have to fight to win."George Matysik, Executive Director, Share Food Program
A centralized hub is how we answer that call across the Delaware Valley, growing our reach to more community partners and getting significantly more fresh food into the neighborhoods that need it most.
What This Space Will Make Possible
A home base for weekly events, over 1,000 volunteers a year, and a gathering place for thousands of neighbors across the Delaware Valley to receive food and contribute back to the community.
Regional Funding Partners
Building a coalition of funders behind fresh food access across the Delaware Valley.
WSFS Bank has been a longtime supporter of Sharing Excess, alongside an incredibly generous group of philanthropic and corporate partners across the region. Together, this coalition is what makes a more durable, diversified food system across the Delaware Valley possible. We've had initial conversations with other funders who are interested in contributing to this initiative, and as part of launching the hub, we're exploring visible, lasting acknowledgment of donors' roles, including naming opportunities, signage, and a public announcement for the partners who help bring it to life.
A Note of Thanks
Vernita and the WSFS Bank team, thank you for taking the time to read through this. We are so proud to work alongside you and deeply grateful for your continued support of the work we do across the Delaware Valley. We're excited for this next step forward together. We believe this is an incredible opportunity for collaboration that will reach thousands more neighbors throughout the region.
Kim Sears
Director of Strategic Partnerships · Sharing Excess
Let's Get in Contact
Sharing Excess Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Tax ID/EIN: 86-2161466. sharingexcess.com