Philly-based nonprofit launches food-mapping website as federal SNAP benefits are uncertain for millions
Posted by WHYY on November 4, 2025
Philadelphia-based nonprofit Sharing Excess has launched a website mapping free food locations to support people facing food insecurity as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits run out for millions of Americans.
Roughly 1 in 8 Americans relies on the federal program whose funding has been paused due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. In Pennsylvania, more than 2 million people rely on SNAP, including 472,000 recipients in Philadelphia alone — 30% of the city’s population.
Evan Ehlers, founder of Sharing Excess, says that on an average week, the nonprofit distributes 250,000 pounds of food nationwide, but that SNAP cuts have led to an “unprecedented” amount of need.
“Food banks, in general, could not even do one-tenth of what SNAP does on an annual basis,” Ehlers said. “What we’re doing is an increased or inflated effort … which is working with the region’s leading food wholesalers and capturing and redistributing their excess, as well as just donations that they’re making in response to this.”
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