Breaking Bread: An Indoor Meals Initiative
A Dignified means of Breaking Bread with Individuals Experiencing Poverty, Homelessness, & Hunger

Needs and Solutions are within our Community

Although Philadelphia has made tremendous progress in addressing the overall experience of homelessness and hunger in our city, with specific emphasis on individuals living on the streets of Center City, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway continues to be a place where poor and homeless individuals congregate. The beauty of the Parkway and the needs of our citizens have drawn charitable and faith-based groups to Philadelphia to bring food and ministry to individuals on the streets. We believe we can create additional engagement opportunities and a more dignified means to break bread with our brothers and sisters in need in comfortable, indoor locations. We believe we can nourish bodies and lives by using meals as a time to engage individuals with housing and service opportunities.

Breaking Bread: An Indoor Meals Initiative

The City will work to identify Center City places of worship representing a variety of denominations. These places of worship will serve as “Host Sites.” The Host Sites must be willing to:

*Provide ample and suitable space to provide and/or host indoor, sit-down meals on a regular basis;
*Provide meals directly through congregational volunteers or through visiting congregations of the same denomination;

City Contribution and Support

The City of Philadelphia is committed to enhancing the current response to poverty and hunger by providing the following in support of the Breaking Bread initiative:

The City is willing to make a one-time contribution to Hosts to assist in buying minor equipment, refurbishing the mealtime location, etc. Examples include: replacement or purchase of a refrigerator, installation of partitions to create an eating area, purchase of tables, chairs, and paper products for serving food.

Street outreach workers (coordinated through the Outreach Coordination Center located at Project H.O.M.E.) will coordinate with Host Site representatives to provide outreach and engagement to individuals experiencing homelessness to encourage them to come indoors.

Through a federal grant, the city has durable wireless laptop computers that include software to assist individuals in connecting with benefits, such as food stamps. The City is willing to link volunteers to Benefit Bank training and supply laptops on a limited basis to assist in eligibility determination.

View more information about us on our Library Shelf:
oneneighborhood.org/library/shelves/breakingbread