SHARE THIS ARTICLE
After Linda James Rivera, Founder & Executive Director, Northwest Mutual Aid Collective, spoke about her organization’s mission to combat food insecurity at a Rotary meeting earlier this year, members decided to do something to help.
Club members with help from friends, started a monthly collection breakfast items and donating to Rivera’s organization that serves seniors, disabled residents, and low-income families in Northwest Philadelphia. Members also volunteer to hand-deliver the food and help sort at their facility in Germantown.
Club members Carol Bates, Erin Doyle-O’Connor and Kate NesSmith made a delivery of bags of healthy breakfast items and received a tour of their new warehouse located in the Germantown section of Northwest Philadelphia.
According to Feeding America’s 2023 Map the Meal Gap report, more than 210,000 Philadelphians—13.6% of the city’s residents—struggled with food insecurity. The issue has disproportionately affected communities of color, with 22% of Black households and 23% of Hispanic households lacking reliable access to nutritious food. Additionally, 25% of Philadelphia’s children experienced food insecurity, leading to developmental and educational challenges.
“Recent changes in the SNAP program will only make this worse,” said Erin Doyle-O’Connor, who Chairs Rotary’s Food Insecurity Subcommittee. “Northwest Mutual Aid Collective works to combat food insecurity so that our neighbors do not go hungry.”
“Food is a right. not a privilege,” said Rivera, who started her organization during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 by collecting donated food in her home and distributing to families in need. Since then, her organization has grown and now with warehouse space offers pantry support for local organizations and a home delivery service that brings fresh produce and pantry staples directly to seniors, disabled residents, and neighbors who can’t make it to a food pantry.
If you would like to help, donations of non-perishable breakfast items (hot and cold cereal, breakfast bars) can be dropped off at Rotary meetings, Wednesday mornings, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Center on the Hill, Widener Hall, 8855 Germantown Ave.
Or donate to the Northwest Mutual Aid Collective directly.
