At a Mayfair preschool on a recent morning, kids were happily loading up plates with French toast and fruit, one of four free meals they receive daily through a neighborhood food program that has quietly become one of the region’s biggest child-feeding operations. But the same group that brings those meals into classrooms says a city grant that funded weekend take-home boxes has run out, freezing that part of the program. Staff and parents say the pause has reopened a weekend food gap that many families have no easy way to cover.
It Takes a Village to Feed One Child, founded in 2017 by Mark Wainwright, reports on its website that it now provides more than 250,000 meals and snacks each month to around 100 child care sites, senior centers and at-risk locations across Greater Philadelphia. According to It Takes a Village to Feed One Child, that comes out to roughly 3 million meals a year, including weekend food boxes, summer feeding programs and pop-up pantries. The organization’s events calendar and local coverage show that operations now extend beyond city limits, with a main office in King of Prussia and a newer Frankford location, details that local reporting has further fleshed out.
How the Meals Reach Kids
At Children's Place Preschool in Mayfair, teachers say students receive breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner at no cost, all supplied by the nonprofit. Until recently, families also got prepackaged weekend meal kits to take home. Wainwright and the group’s executive vice president told CBS Philadelphia that the weekend program is on hold because a city grant expired. Executive Vice President Brian Williams told the station, "we're not able to continue that program right now." Staff say parents have been calling the preschool to ask when those weekend meals might be back.
Why the Pause Matters
City officials and partner organizations point to a long-standing and stubborn need. National data cited by the city indicate that tens of thousands of children in Philadelphia face food insecurity. In a November press release, the City of Philadelphia reported that Feeding America estimated a 17.6% food insecurity rate in the city, with more than 103,000 children, nearly one in three, living with hunger. The loss of weekend kits removes a dependable source of food for households already stretched by high grocery prices and housing costs.
Where the Nonprofit Works
Beyond preschools, the organization operates pop-up pantries, a mobile program serving people experiencing homelessness and deliveries for seniors, partnering with more than 100 centers across the region. Local reporting identifies the Mayfair preschool as one of the group’s participating locations and lists its address as 4416 Longshore Ave. That same coverage notes a recently opened Frankford space at 4704 Leiper St. Volunteers and partner agencies say frequent deliveries and limited paperwork are what make the program workable for small centers that could not manage a more bureaucratic system.
How to Help
It Takes a Village is now raising money to restart the weekend food boxes and grow other services. The group directs potential donors and volunteers to It Takes a Village to Feed One Child for information on how to get involved. The organization’s public contact details include a phone number and email address for supporters and partner sites, and local organizers say that even small recurring donations could help bring the weekend kits back. For now, the nonprofit and its partner centers continue to offer weekday meals while working behind the scenes to restore that extra layer of weekend support.
