Philadelphia Searches for a Place to Feed the Hungry

Samantha Melamed reports on a radical homelessness solution proposed for Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway: "a semipermanent food-access site in northwestern Center City that could be assembled in a matter of weeks."

Melamed is talking about a large tent: "both physically and metaphorically, with room enough for Parkway meal providers, indoor and outdoor dining, and complementary social services." Since the tent idea was first floated by a request for proposals from the city last spring, however, the proposal has been unable to move forward. The problem, according to Melamed: "Locations were quietly proposed, and just as quietly thwarted."

The article includes more of the context leading up to the creation of the Philadelphia Food Access Collaborative, as well as the ongoing challenge of finding a central location for the Collaborative to serve meals to the homeless.