Step Up to the Plate ends services after nearly two years of helping Philadelphians

Step Up to the Plate, a massive collaborative effort to provide food and relief to Philadelphians suffering from hunger and homelessness during the pandemic, concluded 20 months of service in late December after distributing 878,165 meals.

Managed by Broad Street Ministry, Prevention Point Philadelphia, SEAMAAC and the City of Philadelphia, with the help of dozens of partners, Step Up to the Plate has brought together a team of caterers and restaurants, nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable populations and donors for the initiative, spread over three temporary restoration sites.

The initiative was only supposed to last two months starting in April 2020, during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Instead, Step Up to the Plate moved forward for around 600 days – 10 times longer than expected – a surprise even to its organizers.

“We thought two months would definitely be enough,” said Mike Dahl, founder of Step Up to the Plate and former executive director of Broad Street Ministry. He is now CEO of Stamos Capital, an investment advisory firm.

“And then we kept extending it, month after month. None of us could have predicted how long this pandemic would last.

Step Up to the Plate was funded by about $6 million, with the vast majority coming from philanthropic organizations and individuals, Dahl said. The city also contributed.

In total, more than 30 backers — including the Haas Family Foundation, singer Jon Bon Jovi’s JBJ Soul Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation — have contributed.

At the same time, more than four dozen partners were involved, including Tiffany’s Bakery, Dietz & Watson, the Joy of Socks and Pat’s Steaks.

“For me, the great thing about it was that it was the best cross-industry collaboration I’ve ever seen,” Dahl said. “You made the city work with nonprofits, philanthropies, restaurants, caterers – all taking care of neighbors in the most vulnerable situations.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged us all to build a ‘beloved community.’ When I think of all the organizations and individuals who have come together, I have to believe that Philadelphia is well on its way to realizing its dream. It was such a rare and wonderful thing to watch.

Liz Hersh, director of the city’s Office of Homeless Services, agrees. “It was brilliant, timely and it worked,” she said. “As we reflect on the devastation COVID has wreaked on our society and our community, we must also hold on to the extraordinary efforts like this that have kept people alive and lifted us out.”

Throughout Step Up to the Plate’s run, its catering sites were at the Broad Street Ministry in Center City, which helps homeless Philadelphians with food and social services; Prevention Point Philadelphia in Kensington, a nonprofit public health and social service organization that works to reduce the harms associated with drug use; and SEAMAAC’s location at Francis Scott Key Elementary School in South Philadelphia. SEAMAAC is the Self-Help Coalition of Southeast Asia, a non-profit organization that supports and serves immigrants and refugees.

Laure Biron, executive director of Broad Street Ministry, said her group launched Step Up to the Plate in the spring of 2020 by installing 16 handwashing stations across the city, following guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. United.

The idea of ​​working out of the ministry on South Broad Street continued, she said, with a hygiene truck now driving through town, handing out toothbrushes, deodorant, cosmetics hygiene, etc.

Ultimately, she said, Step Up to the Plate was a “shining example of public and private partnerships.”

Beyond food, the initiative has offered services and distributed many basic necessities to a population of Philadelphians suffering from both food and housing insecurity, she said.

Step Up to the Plate administered 6,492 COVID tests and injected people with 1,201 injections of COVID-19 vaccines. He also registered 304 people for unemployment benefits, distributed 10,308 pieces of clothing and 3,000 doses of Narcan (for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses), not to mention 700 toys last Christmas.

Another benefit was that restaurant and catering business employees had the opportunity to work during the pandemic, organizers noted.

Although the initiative lasted much longer than anyone expected, economics dictated that it had to come to an end.

“All of this was expensive, and finding the financial support to continue was becoming difficult,” said Jose Benitez, executive director of Prevention Point Philadelphia.

As Dahl said, “We ran out of philanthropy and the city extended things as long as they could. We wanted to hold out until the end of 2021, and I thank the city so much for pushing that as far as possible. »

Proud of what was accomplished with an effort that exceeded expectations, Dahl added, “It’s a reminder of what a wonderful and compassionate spirit we have in Philadelphia.”