PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Breaking Bread on Broad started as a summer meal program for students five years ago, but when the pandemic hit, needs began to change and so too did the organization.
“We realized that their parents also were impacted in terms of their ability to provide for their families,” said Ellen Poster, the program’s co-chair. “And so we turned our program into a food pantry, which is what we have now.”
Breaking Bread on Broad, led by Dan Seltzer, is hosted every Wednesday morning at Rodeph Shalom from 8 to 10:30 a.m. They partner with organizations like Philabundance, Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, Philadelphia Diaper Bank and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as well as dozens of volunteers.
Poster said they serve about 170 families a week and provide essential nutritional needs at a time when inflation has increased the cost of groceries and additional federal SNAP benefits from the pandemic have ended.
She added that many food-insecure families often have to choose between diapers for their babies and providing food for their families. This is why they also supply people with diapers, so parents don't have to make that choice. Poster said they also provide milk.
“Unfortunately…we don't see an end point where the food insecurity that exists in Philadelphia is going away. So we plan on being there as long as there are people who can use the food.”
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She said those who attend the food pantry go through a long line of food and can choose what they want to eat.
“It's a constant effort to provide enough food, and a variety of food, and the kinds of foods that our families like to eat each week. We could be providing what they call prepared meals, but we know that our families don't like those, so we don't do that.”
She said they try to offer things the families actually want to eat, like vegetables and rice, protein, pasta and tuna fish.
Alongside providing food, they attempt to provide a very welcoming atmosphere.
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“It's a chance for us to know our own neighbors and for them to get to know us,” Porter said.
Porter added it’s a constant labor of love to provide fresh produce catered to the mainly mandarin and spanish speaking communities they serve.
“And we serve every kind of person, she said. “There's no distinction with race, religion, gender or anything. It's a completely non-denominational effort, but it's driven by our Jewish values.”
For more information or to make a donation, visit their website.