Lemontree helps people access free food in Philadelphia

This morning, millions of Americans woke up and went to work with empty stomachs. Kids sat in class, unable to focus. At the same time, the US has more food pantries than McDonalds. For the last 50+ years, these organizations have supplied neighbors with produce, pantry staples, and more. The resources are there: Feeding America distributes more than $2 billion worth of food, and USDA will allocate another $2 billion for food pantries in 2022.

But even though 1 in 10 people in Philadelphia struggles with food insecurity, the majority of hungry people don’t access that help. Lemontree exists to fix this problem and help our neighbors tap into these crucial resources–and now we’ve launched in Philadelphia.

Lemontree helps people through a tech-enabled text message helpline. When someone signs up for Lemontree, they are connected with a live person who texts them everything they need to know to access food nearby, with warmth and hospitality.

Lemontree has access to over 3,000 food distribution organizations, but we’re also constantly refreshing that data with real feedback from our users. That means the data we have about free food near you can’t be found on Google. What’s more, Google won’t proactively ask if you need help applying for benefits, or respond with empathy when you say you haven’t eaten in days–we do.

We offer our services in New York, North New Jersey, and now Philadelphia. We've already helped more than 20,000 people access free food in their communities, including 3,722 referrals in Philadelphia in just 3 months.

A huge thank you to our generous partners who helped make our expansion to Philly happen, including Rob Hayes, Ron Conway, and Chris Fralic.

It makes no sense that humans go hungry while free food is around the corner. If you or someone you know needs a helping hand, visit us at https://www.foodhelpline.org/.