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Alissa McLaughlin, of the 2000 block of Pemberton Street, was volunteering with some children in her neighborhood, when she noticed a distinct lack of concentration in many of them with whom she was working. She asked the director of the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 740 S. 17th St., why they seemed to struggle with behavior and focus, and the answer seems to have given her new purpose in life.
“He told me since most of the kids are on public assistance they were not eating over the weekends because they were provided school breakfast and lunch,” McLaughlin explained. “I figured if I taught the kids how to cook on Saturday and sent them home with supplies to practice the recipes, I could theoretically provide at least two healthy meals over the weekend.”
That was more three years ago, and it gave her the inspiration to start Small Fry, a program for 5- to 13-year-olds that focuses on nutrition and kitchen skills, aiming at them bringing home infectious energy and enthusiasm for making wholesome meals. And staying away from snack meals.
“The requirements are every meal has to be under 500 calories and all of the items in the recipe need to be on the food stamp-approved list so they are able to duplicate recipes at home,” the South of South resident said.
Her company, Radiant Matter, an event and logistics operation she founded five years ago, gave her the resources to start Small Fry with her own money (she admits to still figuring out nonprofit and IRS-exempt loose ends). She and her boyfriend have galvanized a strong group of volunteers and families and this past Saturday, they sent 110 kids home with turkeys, recipes and ingredients for side dishes.
“This weekend, we had 110 kids and we have 180 kids that are registered for Small Fry,” McLaughlin said, going on to describe the many things they didn’t see coming when it all got started: extreme camaraderie amongst families and volunteers, barricades of literacy and portion control and awareness of how rewarding it would be for those lending volunteer support. “The two main things are the kids need to eat, and we need to be there for these kids and be consistent.”
By showing kids how to make chicken nuggets that are baked, healthier versions of pizza, and “skinny” versions of Thanksgiving fix-ins like green bean casserole, stuffing, pie and mashed potatoes, McLaughlin has been emboldened to expand and continue Small Fry a little farther south and into subsidized housing communities.
“You can’t just fly in and fly out,” she noted. “Our community needs people that are going to walk alongside them. I’ve learned so much from my kids and their families that my life is 100 times better.”
They’re hopeful that a second location is up and running by January with an eye on Chew Recreation Center, 1800 Washington Ave.
Small Fry’s ambitions seem to grow as the program matures, too.
“We have also started couponing classes and budgeting classes for parents. We focus how to survive on one modest income” McLaughlin said, with her mom proving influential in the program’s founding and in leading lessons, too, showing parents “how to take one chicken and turn it into four meals for five people.”
As for a new space, McLaughlin and her volunteers plan on working with Community Center site’s directly because “sometimes you just kind of forge ahead.”
On Monday night at the Universal Audenried Charter High School, 3301 Tasker St., Tasker Elite and Wyde Bodi threw a Thanksgiving Dinner for Seniors with support from 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Grays Ferry Community Council and a slew of donating and charitable gifts from local businesses. Not only does the Universal high school serve as a gathering place, but Tasker Elite helps distribute warm meals to South Philly seniors through another half-dozen satellite sites.
It’s an annual tradition that Tasker Elite leader Eric Holmes started eight years ago, perhaps with divine purpose.
“One day I just woke up and decided we’d do something for the seniors. I guess that was God’s calling and ever since then, we’ve just kept doing it,” Holmes said.
Last year, he revealed they served 1,500 mouths, and this year they plan to top it. Between 5 and 6 p.m. the High School’s cafeteria was modestly full, but Grays Ferry resident and local community supporter Cheryl Singletary said the event was just getting warmed up.
“This is my community and anything I can do, I try to get involved because we need to do things together. I love helping out wherever I can and anything Tasker Elite does, I’m gonna get involved,” Singleton, a resident of 30th and Mifflin streets, said after having just finished singing Don Moen’s “Give Thanks,” with the lyrics: “Give thanks with a grateful heart / Give thanks to the Holy One … And now let the weak say, ‘I am strong’ / Let the poor say, ‘I am rich.’”
“You may not realize it when you’re in your house, you got your heat, you got your food, you got your TV, but you never think about people that are walking and living in the street all week, and we should be thankful for the little things. I am,” Singletary, a mother to three grown children and an adopted five-year-old daughter who goes to the Universal Institute Charter School, 801 S. 15th St., said.
“We try to bring the neighborhood back up,” Anthony Williams, the president and founder of Wyde Bodi, which has nine chapters in the Philadelphia area, said. “I love dealing with kids, that’s my main thing. In the summertime we try to get them out at least twice a month for a park or the movies. Eric [Holmes] brought us on board [for the Thanksgiving celebrations] and then we started going out to the community to get his organization and my organization involved.”
Clearly Thanksgiving is for everyone, but for seniors and children especially, it seems like a holiday where situations have great room for improvement. And Singletary’s watched plenty of kids fall on tough times.
“I’ve seen them fall through the cracks,” she says. “And it’s either they get into something bad because there’s nothing to do. If you provide something for them, they may not end up in jail or in the grave.”
And the Grays Ferry cafeteria was full of young and old, in part inspired by the simple notion that while you’re on Earth, you have to go above and beyond your own circumstances.
“I don’t mind doing whatever’s necessary,” Singletary said. “You have to do good while you’re here.”
Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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