Leaders at Feast of Justice, a nonprofit based in the city's Mayfair section, said the organization is serving significantly more people than it can accommodate each month.
RELATED: Why nearly 4.3 million people are no longer receiving food stamps
"Right now, we literally have four times as many registered households as we can accommodate in a single month," said Rev. Patricia Neale of Feast of Justice.
Neale said only a fraction of those seeking assistance can currently be served.
"But because of the great numbers that we're seeing only 25% of them can make it in here at a time," she said.
According to Feast of Justice, 1,850 new households have turned to the organization for help since changes to federal food assistance took effect.
At the same time, advocacy group Hunger Free America estimates that Pennsylvania lost $450 million in federal food aid this year.
The report also noted that inflation in the region reached 5.4% in June, above the national average.
Local leaders have identified the Big Beautiful Bill as one source of the crisis and are calling on federal lawmakers to take action.
Philabundance CEO Lore Jones Brown said policymakers should consider changes to address the situation.
"Whether that's delaying the cost shift, restoring snap, the change doesn't require work requirements," said Brown.
Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, said the challenges facing food-insecure households could be avoided through policy changes.
"It's frustrating because this issue is so preventable. We didn't need to raise prices through govt policies, cut food to the most vulnerable," he said.
Food pantry leaders said SNAP remains a critical source of food assistance, noting that the program distributes nine times as much food as all food charities combined distribute annually.
As demand continues to grow, local organizations are urging action to address the increasing strain on food assistance resources.