Bebashi Transition to Hope, an agency normally associated with sexual health care, continues its evolution of addressing other social problems affecting the community by conducting a mobile food pantry to commemorate Martin Luther King Day of Service on January 20.
Food insecurity remains one of Philadelphia’s most intransigent problems. In addition to having the highest rate of poverty among the largest cities in the United States- at 25.7 percent (Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative), approximately 325,940 people are food insecure.
Defined as: “the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food,” “Philadelphia has a rate of 21 percent, meaning that over 1 in 5 Philadelphians suffer from food insecurity.
Widely known as the first organization in the United States to address HIV/AIDS in communities of color, Bebashi has been busy, implementing programs addressing other social determinants of health including a breast health program for uninsured women, criminal justice and in conjunction with Miriam Medical Clinic, operating a free primary health care program for the uninsured on its own premises at 1235 Spring Garden Street.
Since 1998, Bebashi has been operating one of the largest food pantries in North Philadelphia and, in 2019, was the recipient of a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to address food and health insecurity in the Health Empowerment Zone, encompassing most of North Philadelphia , as well as Nicetown, West Oak Lane and parts of Mount Airy.
“Bebashi will participate in this year’s King Day of Service to provide nutritious food at Broad Street and Erie Avenue, a highly traveled intersection in the North Philadelphia section of the city, to address the growing concern of food insecurity throughout the City of Philadelphia,” Bebashi director of programs and administration, Sebrina Tate, said.
“We also want to make individuals in this neighborhood aware of the services we provide to the community, particularly our food pantry services, sexual health education, testing services and breast health information to combat the health and economic disparities in their neighborhood.
Communing around food is woven into the fabric of our culture and Bebashi is committed to bring families back together by breaking bread.”
For more information, visit: www.bebashi.org.
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