Food Distribution

SEAMAAC has partnered with the City of Philadelphia, the Share Food Program and Philabundance to act as a food bank site for communities in South Philadelphia. We hand out over 800 boxes per week to walk up families and individuals through the City’s Food Distribution program. Boxes include non-perishable items such as canned goods and bags of rice as well as fresh produce.

7 Things to Know About Our Food Bank

• Open Mondays & Thursdays from 10am-12pm
• ONE box per household
• No ID required
• Stand 6 feet away from others in line
• Bring a cart or large shopping bag for easier carry
• Wear protective gear
• Be patient and respectful

Our food bank welcomes all families in need, and you can come as you are. These times are stressful and scary. Emotions can run high but we encourage folks to remember we are all in this together. Let’s not hoard and be as kind to each other as we can. Big thank you to our Hunger Relief team and to the volunteers who’ve joined us and continue to come out every week.

Elders Grocery Initiative

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, SEAMAAC had to temporarily halt our Roots of Happiness: Elders Health and Wellness Program. The 250+ Asian elders that we serve in our weekly program and ongoing case management are not served by any other agency due to their social and linguistic isolation. This makes SEAMAAC the only point of service available and accessible to them for reliable in-language information, case management, congregant meals and fellowship.

Our Elders represent the demographic with the highest risk for COVID19 and their limited English proficiency makes them even more vulnerable. In order to help protect their health and safety through the pandemic, we deliver groceries and other crucial supplies to Elders' homes every week.

Our delivery days are Tuesday and Friday each week with volunteers covering multiple turfs throughout Philadelphia. We currently deliver over 180 grocery packages to Elders and highly vulnerable, at-risk community members across Vietnamese, Lao, Chinese, Bhutanese, Chin, Indonesian, Karen, Cambodian, Latinx, African and African American communities.

If you would like to support our efforts and help protect these foundational members of our communities, please consider making a donation. Any amount helps!

Donate here

Prepared Meals

During this uncertain time of COVID-19, SEAMAAC, the City of Philadelphia, Broad Street Ministry and other Step Up To The Plate partners are doing our best to respond to the growing critical needs of our communities. Monday through Friday, we give out free prepared meals to pick up and go from 11:30am to 1:00pm in Key School's front yard located at 2230 S. 8th Street.



There will be no ID required and individuals will receive one bag (two meals worth) each. Every Tuesday at the site, we offer boxes of produce in addition to meals. We have around 300 boxes available and give one box per family. There are hand-washing stations on site as well as colorful distance markers made by Mural Arts Philadelphia to help keep folks socially distant and safe. Folks are encouraged to take the bags home to eat.



In partnership with Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers, SEAMAAC now offers COVID-19 testing before our prepared meal service.

Important Things to Know:

Key School is located at 2230 S. 8th Street and testing is available there every Thursday from 9am-11am.
Tests are FREE and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. No ID, referral or insurance is required.
A health representative will contact folks by phone with their results within one week. Folks can also return the following Thursday and receive a physical letter confirming their results.

We offer language assistance for limited English proficient community members during their test and a translated copy of their results. Currently, we have in-person interpretation support in Spanish, Indonesian and Vietnamese, and over-the-phone interpretation for Mandarin and Nepali. We are looking to expand our language services to include Khmer, Lao and Karen. If you speak one or more of those languages and are interested in volunteering, please contact Dominic at [email protected].

Volunteer

It is through love, compassion and community action that we will get through this together. Now more than ever, SEAMAAC is in need of folks willing to help out. Your work can help us make a greater impact in reaching and supporting marginalized communities.

Mobilizing Hunger Relief

We need volunteers for the following shifts:

• Prepared Meal Service: Monday - Friday from 9am to 2pm at Key School (2230 S. 8th Street).
• Food Distribution: Mondays and Thursdays from 8:15am to 12pm at 1711 S. Broad Street.
• Elders' Deliveries: Tuesdays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm or 1pm to 4pm at 1711 S. Broad Street for packing and delivering.

Bilingual Community Outreach

• Do you speak Vietnamese, Chinese, Lao, Nepali, Bhutanese, Khmer, Chin or Karen? Volunteer to help with outreach!

General Assistance

• Are you a food corporation or small business looking to pitch in? Connect with us on food donations, supplies or other services you are willing to donate that may be helpful.

Sign up here to join our team of volunteers.