Coordinating group for meals for homeless set up

As part of the city's effort to better coordinate outdoor free meals for homeless people, Mayor Nutter has created the Philadelphia Food Access Collaborative, which includes many groups that give food to people in need.

The collaborative grew out of a yearlong attempt to bridge the gap between groups that feed homeless people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and those that want them to move indoors.

Bill Golderer, the convening minister of Broad Street Ministry, said the collaborative was "positioned to drive our city toward new solutions to this vexing problem." He will cochair the collaborative with Mary Horstmann, deputy director of policy planning for the mayor's office.

The collaborative will work on such issues as increasing the availability of meals at existing indoor meal-service sites; coordinating meal schedules to eliminate gaps in service; identifying new space for meal service; and connecting individuals at meal sites to other social services. - Jennifer Lin