by Alex Lloyd Gross
Today, is Dr. Martin Luther King Day. To celebrate, many organizations partner with a church to have a prayer breakfast. The Philadelphia Police Department did something a bit different. Instead of feeding people for one meal,they fed folks for a week or so. Officers from around the city converged on the On YMCA building on the 4600 block of Lieper Street. It was there, officers participated in a community market..
It Takes A Village To Feed 1child.org/ along with Uiquedreamsinc.com/ joined with officers inside the building to give out food and other necessities to members of the community. As soon as people walked in ,they saw tables set up with bread, fruits and vegetables , soaps and hygiene products. There was no l9ine, no structure. Folks could take what they needed.
The mission for the day was to address hunger and food insecurity with children, seniors, at-risk, adults, homeless, and emergency shelters, in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
There are plenty of people that are unemployed, under employed that can barely make ends meet. That loaf of bread actually means more to them than it does to a well to do person. The fact is that in Philadelphia, a lot of people cannot get around without SEPTA and they work multiple jobs for less than $10.00/hr. Six years ago they were essential workers. They get paid that wage because employers can pay it. The minimum wage is still $7.25/hr in Pa.
Organizers of the event said they can safely accommodate 112 families with the amount of food they have. However, if someone walked in off the street, they would not get turned away. The event ran from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM.