Stand with working families and their employers.

Help families make ends meet.

The cost to feed your family shouldn’t depend on your zip code. But across all Philadelphia zip codes today, the Philadelphia Beverage Tax represents a 1.5 cents per ounce, or $1.92 per gallon, tax on more than 4,000 items, including no-calorie, diet, juice, and milk products. Low income families, without transportation, are forced to bear the highest burden of this tax.

That’s why 81% of Pennsylvanians believe food is a basic necessity and should not be taxed.

Preserve and Create Jobs
Families are leaving the City to shop.  Grocery store sales have dropped significantly.  Nearly 1,200 jobs have been lost because of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax.*

Healthier Communities
ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer stores have been a national leader in reducing the food desert crisis in Philadelphia. They have invested millions of dollars to improve Pennsylvania’s most underserved and poorest neighborhoods and provide more fresh food options, health centers, nutritionists and other critical community needs in its stores. This tax threatens that good work.

Stronger Neighborhoods
ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer are leading employers of previously incarcerated community members – providing training and career opportunities.  They are helping 500 employees earn a second chance and reducing the likelihood that they will re-offend.

Fighting Hunger
A long-time supporter of key community efforts, ShopRite is dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities it serves.  Through its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, ShopRite has donated more than $50 million to 2,200 worthy agencies and food banks committed to ending hunger since the program began in 1999. In addition, ShopRite is a key donor to many local organizations, and as a title sponsor of the LPGA’s ShopRite Classic, ShopRite has raised more than $22 million for local schools, hospitals and community groups at various golf events. 

Legislators can support employers, like ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer, and Pre-K programs, without eliminating the other.

*Oxford Economics, “The Economic Impact of Philadelphia’s Beverage Tax,” Dec. 2017.

Tom Charley: Philly-style tax could impact Western Pa.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Featured Commentary

November 26, 2019