Demand heavy for Philabundance food program

A measure of these hard economic times could have been taken yesterday at the Grand Marketplace in Willingboro.

That's where Philabundance, the region's largest hunger-relief organization, has moved its produce-distribution program after demand caused it to outgrow its previous location in just two weeks.

The program, Fresh for All, debuted in Willingboro on July 16, drawing 230 people to a parking lot off Beverly-Rancocas Road.

The next week, 290 people showed up.

"The parking lot, which we thought was large, turned out not to be so large," said Kelly Hile, Fresh for All's manager. "We were definitely overwhelmed."

Yesterday, more than 150 people showed up at the Grand Marketplace, a shopping center on Route 130, despite little notice of the switch. Fresh for All also changed the distribution day from Wednesday to Tuesday.

A crowd had gathered by 1 p.m, a half-hour early, standing on the hot blacktop in 90-degree heat, a few people holding umbrellas to fend off the sun.

There were families with children, the disabled, the elderly, the working poor.

"People do need it," said Andre Staples, a disabled veteran from Willingboro. "Just because we're in the suburbs, it doesn't mean we have everything we need."

Rising food and gas prices are a growing burden. And summer can be tough for people in need, especially those with children used to getting government-subsidized meals at school. Food-pantry supplies are typically lower this time of year because donations are concentrated during the winter holidays and colder months.

Hile said she believed that the Willingboro site served more of the working poor than the four other Philabundance distribution points, such as the one in Camden, which tends to draw from the city's poverty-stricken neighborhoods.

"Here, they're coming from all over the place," she said.

Participants must register with the program, but no one is turned away.

"If you show up and say you need help, you're going to get help," said Marlo DelSordo, Philabundance's communications manager.

The goal, she said, is to provide five pounds of fruit and vegetables for each person in a household. The food is donated by wholesale vendors at South Philadelphia's produce terminal and importers such as Four Seasons and Del Monte.

Fresh for All arrived yesterday with more than 8,000 pounds of produce, handed out by volunteers.

Supplies from Philabundance feed 900,000 people in the region through nearly 600 agencies. Fresh for All is the only program through which Philabundance gives food directly.

In addition to Willingboro and Camden, produce is distributed once a week in Sharon Hill and Woodlyn, both in Delaware County, and in Salem, Salem County.

In Willingboro, Fresh for All is working with Stop, Drop Your Guns Inc., a youth-empowerment program founded by Kelly Logan, a teacher and former police officer whose daughter was accidentally shot and killed by a friend in 2003.

Logan has been helping to get the word out about Fresh for All.

"The way the economy is, it's very difficult," he said. "This is awesome. We've never had this in Willingboro before."

He said he liked that the program provided mainly fruits and vegetables.

"The way this generation is, it's fast food, fast food, fast food," said Logan, a former high school football star.

Makeda Smith of Willingboro had her first visit to Fresh for All yesterday. She had learned about the program from a flyer.

"Anything extra is a big help," she said. "The grocery stores in Willingboro aren't that good at all."

Logan was impressed with the turnout, but he predicted that next week - when word of the new location and time has spread further - will be "truly overwhelming."

"No one's ashamed to be in line," he said. "It's not about being broke. . . . It's about helping the community, and they get it."

For information on the Fresh for All program, call 215-220-1920 or visit http://go.philly.com/freshEndText