Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LogistiCare, the nation’s largest non-emergency medical transportation company, is partnering with Philabundance and The Liberti Church Network to deliver food to Philadelphia residents in need. In the first few weeks of the partnership with Philabundance and The Liberti Church Network, LogistiCare has delivered more than 1,200 meals to residents in Philadelphia.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Liberti Church Network quickly recognized that residents facing restrictions and safety concerns needed a way to receive food – with so many no longer able to rely on public transportation to get to the store or a local food pantry, with some forced to go without food altogether.
“Adaptability is the hallmark of our success,” explained Reverend Vito Baldini, Director of Mercy and Justice for The Liberti Church Network, who has been coordinating food distributions for Philadelphia residents since the start of the pandemic. “In a period of 3 days, just as the pandemic really began to spike, we had to quickly find a way for our food distribution efforts to transform from a once a year effort into a 6-days-a-week provider – the need in our city was just that big!”
To help make the transformation happen, Rev. Baldini turned to Philabundance, who has been a valued partner for eight years in the coordination of food distribution efforts, along with new partner, LogistiCare, who heard of Rev. Baldini’s food delivery needs and stepped in to help. LogistiCare's local transportation provider, Medical Transportation Providers LLC, was called upon to deliver food packages provided by Philabundance to food-insecure members of the community in need.
“Our relationship with The Liberti Church Network and Philabundance allows us to provide assistance to residents of some of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods that face the greatest need for food delivery,” said Kathryn Stalmack, SVP and General Counsel of LogistiCare. “LogistiCare’s growing relationships with food banks, faith-based organizations, municipalities, nonprofits and government entities demonstrate our ability and desire to adjust our basic service model from delivering patients to appointments, to the delivery food when and where it is needed the most.”
“The COVID-19 crisis has had a major impact on food insecure senior citizens across Greater Philadelphia,” explained Philabundance Manager of Agency Relations Emily Glick. “Many seniors rely on the government’s Senior Box Program to supplement their normal grocery hauls, but risked contracting the virus if they left their homes to pick up this much needed resource. Thanks to Pastor Vito, The Liberti Church Network and LogistiCare, seniors across the region can receive the senior boxes they rely on through contactless delivery. It’s absolutely amazing.”
“We make access to our food delivery services simple, yet effective,” said Dasha Alexander, Provider Relations Director for LogistiCare. “Philabundance and The Liberti Church Network work together to provide us with a list of recipients for the delivery service, in addition to the actual food packages. Then, we utilize our pre-existing resources with our transportation partners to create routes, pick up food and deliver it those who need it most.”
If you or someone you know is in need of food in Philadelphia, kindly reach out to Rev. Vito Baldini at admin@easteroutreach.org or visit www.easteroutreach.org.
About Providence Service Corporation and LogistiCare:
LogistiCare, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Providence Service Corporation, is the nation’s largest manager of non-emergency medical transportation (“NEMT”) programs for state government agencies and managed care organizations. LogistiCare’s services include NEMT ride management, call center management, transportation provider network development and credentialing, and vendor administration.
LogistiCare is focused on providing access to convenient, cost-effective, safe and reliable transportation. LogistiCare delivers tech-enabled solutions that provide enhanced functionality, stronger network performance, streamlined workflow processes, and higher overall system efficiency. Annually LogistiCare manages over 63 million trips for more than 24 million eligible riders in 50 states and the District of Columbia. For more information about LogistiCare visit www.logisticare.com.
About Philabundance:
Philabundance is one of the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organizations, driving hunger from our communities today and ending hunger for good. In 2019, it distributed more than 26 million pounds through a network of 350 partners, and partnerships with hospitals, schools, libraries and other service providers. Philabundance serves more than 90,000 people each week, 30 percent of whom are children, 16 percent of whom are seniors, and other people served include college students, single parents and the working class. Give now or learn more at Philabundance.org.
About The Liberti Church Network:
The Liberti Church Network is a community of churches that seek to live, speak and serve as the very presence of Jesus in our neighborhoods. All Liberti Network churches are founded on three key ministry areas – church planting, local mercy initiative and international mercy initiatives. Churches span in location from throughout the city of Philadelphia and into greater regional communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including: River Wards, Fairmount, Center City, Newtown Square, the Main Line, Collingswood, Montgomery County, Harrisburg, Lebanon and the Northeast. For more information, visit: https://liberti.org/.
Contact:
Liz Thomas
Thomas Boyd Communications
609-923-9946
