Breaking Bread on Broad helps families rise above hunger

Every Wednesday morning, Congregation Rodeph Sholom on North Broad Street becomes a pantry called Breaking Bread on Broad - where those in need can get everything from diapers to baked goods and fresh produce.

Philabundance is one of their major food donors.

"We never know what we're gonna get. It's whatever is in season, whatever overages there are," says Dan Seltzer, Breaking Bread on Broad's co-leader. "Most of our clients do not speak English."

The majority of Breaking Bread on Broad's clients are Hispanic and Asian.

"I'd say we're serving about 200 families a week. There are probably between five and six hundred children."

"There's need out there. It's a problem in Philadelphia, it's a problem everywhere, frankly."

Junior ROTC students from neighboring Benjamin Franklin High School volunteer their time as well.

"It's very gratifying. It's one thing to make a financial contribution to an organization; it's another to see people walking away with food that I've worked hard to get here."

The pantry, Seltzer says, is part of the synagogue's commitment to social justice.

"There's a tradition in Judais, in Hebrew it's called Tikkun Olam, which means to repair the world. So there's a focus on doing something to make the world a better place."

Breaking Bread on Broad received a capacity grant from Philabundance, which will enable the synagogue to buy freezers to store more food.

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