Volunteer to Deliver Meals to Families in Need

Food insecurity in Philadelphia was always high, and since the pandemic hit, a record number of families are relying on food pantries and community resources to make ends meet. After a survey of our families was conducted, we found that many were concerned about waiting in long lines or being in crowds to collect meals; several resources were only allowing drive-thru pickup and many of our families do not have their own vehicles.

Over the past five weeks, the KenCrest Early Learning Centers have been delivering a week's worth of food at a time to over 500 families of enrolled children -- meals their children would normally receive during the school day – a monumental undertaking!

KenCrest is rising to meet new challenges every day

Starting June 15, we are seeking volunteer delivery drivers / teams to help us continue in these efforts through the summer, to ensure families that depend on KenCrest for food still have access to healthy meals and snacks. It takes a minimum of 20 drivers and 20 riders each week to deliver the meals, but optimally twice that to make the runs quick and efficient. We are looking to our community for assistance, whether for just an occasional run, or a longer commitment.

If you are interested in helping, please read on for more details. You can sign up for a shift by following the links below. If you have any questions prior to signing up, please contact Michael Bowman at michael.bowman@kencrest.org.

- Deliveries take place Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, generally between 10 AM - 2 PM, though a few centers start closer to 12 PM.

- Meal boxes are delivered to the ELC’s and loaded directly into driver vehicles. Each box is 14"x10"x10". Larger vehicles can do a full route of 25-30 boxes, but small vehicles can generally handle a half-route of 12-15 boxes.

- Each route takes between 1.5 – 3 hours to complete, depending on the traffic and route specifics. The more drivers we have, the more we can divide the routes and cover ground faster!

- Routes are sent to all drivers electronically with clickable links for each stop on the route which opens Google Maps.

- The delivery runs are conducted following all safety protocols and CDC guidelines. No direct contact with families is made.

Routes begin and end at our North, South, West, Adams, and Kensington Centers in Philadelphia. Please see the addresses below, find the one closest to you, and follow the link to sign up for a shift at that location.