President Joe Biden will visit Philabundance on Monday for MLK Day
The visit will mark Biden's third trip to Pennsylvania in less than two weeks.
President Joe Biden will visit Philabundance, a Philly-based food bank, on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
It will be his third visit to Pennsylvania over the course of less than two weeks and his third visit to Philabundance on MLK Day, a national day of service.
He also volunteered at the South Philadelphia food bank on MLK Day with first lady Jill Biden in 2021 and 2022.
The visit will be at least Biden’s 17th in the state since he became president. Pennsylvania, which Biden narrowly won to defeat former President Donald Trump in 2020, is again considered a critical swing state as he seeks reelection this year.
On Friday, Biden visited businesses in Allentown, and last Friday, he visited Valley Forge and then made a campaign speech in Blue Bell, where he argued that Trump is a threat to democracy.
To Loree Jones-Brown, the CEO of Philabundance, the visit isn’t just a photo op — it represents a bipartisan effort to address nutritional challenges across the country, and gives advocates a chance to raise awareness about food insecurity.
“It’s about, really, the president and government raising awareness about food insecurity,” she said.
She said the president will help volunteers pack fresh, healthy food for people in need. Advocates also hope to speak with Biden and other officials about supporting programs like WIC, which provides nutritional assistance for at-risk women, infants, and children.
The nonprofit serves about 135,000 people each week across a network of 350 pantries and soup kitchens across the Greater Philadelphia region, Jones-Brown said.
“The fact that he has returned to this year after year says something,” she said.