Fresh, healthy food is a luxury a lot of folks can’t afford, but the Powelton-based People’s Emergency Center and Drexel University have come up with a way to combine healthier food and economic opportunity with the recently launched Fresh Start Foods West Philadelphia.

The program provides unemployed young adults an opportunity to build skills through paid food service apprenticeships through Drexel’s Department of Culinary Arts and Food Science. The apprenticeships will include culinary preparation training, nutrition, meal planning and recipe development. The first cohort will begin in March.

Once fully operational, the program will be able to provide some 2,000 healthy meals each day to neighborhood school children. Organizers also plan to open a retail store next fall at 3945 Lancaster Ave.

Fresh Start Foods West Philadelphia has received more than $700,000 in federal and state grants.

UPDATE (11/24/2014): The Holiday Basket Drive continues in Cedar Park and Cedar Park Neighbors will also be sending out letters to residents asking for donations, starting this week. To donate online, visit this page.

11/6/2014: Winter holidays are approaching fast – an exciting time for all, but also worrying for many neighbors who will struggle putting food on the table during this time. In a continuous effort to help Cedar Park residents and families in need, Cedar Park Neighbors (CPN) is holding a holiday food basket drive again this year.

CPN, in cooperation with some local churches and other nonprofit organizations, will prepare and distribute food baskets during the holiday season. Last year, they were able to help over 600 people in the neighborhood. In order to make this event successful again, they are asking for help from the community.

A suggested donation is $36. This amount will help CPN and their partners feed two families. To donate to the CPN Holiday Basket Drive, go to this page.

If you have questions, please contact Michelle at mlewis1071@gmail.com.

Screen shot from the video below that was produced by the Philo Project.

Need a rake? A wrench? Some pliers? Maybe a gas-powered lawn care tool to call your very own? You’re in luck because this Saturday (Nov. 22) is the West Philly Tool Library‘s semi-annual Fall Tool Sale and Drive.

The sale is a chance to get in on some great tool buys as they thin out the inventory a little and raises some much need cash. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the Tool Library, 1314 S. 47th.

Tax deductible donations are also encouraged and coffee and refreshments will be provided.

By the way, if you are unfamiliar with the West Philly Tool Library and want to join, here’s a little video you should watch:

The city will be conducting mechanical leaf collection for the area between 38th and 52nd Streets and from Baltimore Avenue to Spruce Street this Friday (Nov. 21), so here’s a reminder of what residents in this area should do.

All leaves should be raked and ready for collection by 7:00 a.m. on Friday. Rake leaves into the street by the curb’s edge (piling is not necessary). If possible, move your vehicle to an off-street parking location on your scheduled collection day, so crews can remove leaves along the curb line. Residents in mechanical areas can also drop-off bagged leaves. After the mechanical collection, please sweep and bag any remaining leaves and place them out for the weekly rubbish collections.

There will be only one mechanical leaf collection for each area this year. For more information regarding the 2014 Philly Leaf Recycling Program, click here.

The city will unveil the locations of the most requested bike share stations tomorrow at 30th Street Station. Swing by during the day from 8:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the west side of the main waiting area.

As it has already been reported in city-wide and local media, the city’s first bike share program is expected to launch in the Spring 2015, bringing public bikes available for pick-up and drop-off at around 60 locations in Center City and parts of South, North and West Philadelphia. Recently, the City completed a five-week long survey where the public was asked to provide input on suggested bike share stations across the city. Around 10,000 public comments on 100 potential bike share locations were submitted through an online map, via in-person surveys and text messages and now there is an opportunity to learn more about the results of the survey in West Philly.

The first Bike Share Results Open House took place Tuesday in Center City:

Come learn about Philly #bikeshare for Spring 2015, Today at the Gallery 9th and Market Sts. until 6 PM. pic.twitter.com/acukZh05UB

— PhillyBikeShare (@phillybikeshare) November 18, 2014

Some 16 bike share stations have been proposed in West Philadelphia, most of them on and around the Penn and Drexel campuses. The westernmost location is on Walnut Street between 43rd and 44th. One location is on Baltimore Avenue (at 43rd St), three on or near Lancaster Ave (at 38th, 39th and 40th), four on Market Street (near 30th Street Station, 33rd, 37th, and 41st Streets), four on or near Walnut Street (near 34th, 36th, 40th, and 44th Streets).

These and other stations were considered based on a number of factors, including population density, bike lanes, available space, employment, shopping, cultural and recreational destinations and suggestions from stakeholders and the public.

“Tuba Dan” of West Philadelphia Orchestra playing the accordion for West Philly Music Playgroup at Clark Park. (Photo by Anna Selfridge)

About 30 tots and their caregivers, members of the West Philly Music Playgroup, are desperately seeking indoor space for meet-ups and activities during winter. The group, which started in the spring of 2013, has been steadily adding new members who enjoyed playing together and socializing outdoors during the warmer months. Since last spring the group has been meeting at Clark Park (at the stone courtyard at the corner of 45th and Chester) for some outdoor play, music, and fun. But with winter coming on (and the threat of more polar vortices), indoor space is needed that would accommodate the group’s growing numbers.

The group organizers say that they have looked into some available indoor spaces around the neighborhood, but they all charge over a hundred dollars a month.

“The play group has always been free and that makes it more readily available for people of all incomes and backgrounds to join in on the fun,” writes the group founder Alexandra E. Gunnison. “We would really just need the space from December to March, give or take some time depending on the weather.”

The group is not very formal and organizes mostly through social media. “I’ll post a reminder in different Facebook groups (West Philly Playgroup or the group I started, West Philly Nannies) that play group will be happening on Tuesday morning and sometimes we have parents or nannies with their children join in from the park or the street,” writes Alexandra. The kids and caregivers meet up around 10 a.m., have a bit of free play and talk time and then gather together for songs like Ring Around the Rosie, the alphabet, or the Wheels on the Bus.

The group also had a few “special events”, like a Halloween themed music playgroup at the Woodlands Cemetery with apple cider and muffins and birthday celebrations with goody bag hand-outs.

And check out the impressive list of musicians who have already performed for the group’s tiny members (Alexandra says she’s friends with them):

“Tuba” Dan Nosheny of West Philadelphia Orchestra, Neon and Shy, Polkadelphia and Red Hot Ramblers. Sarah Larsen of Lady Bird and Frankie Velardo of The Downtown Shimmy and Aardvark Felon performed for the group as well.

If you would like to help out or for more information please contact Alexandra by calling 240-460-8572 or emailing: aegunnison[at]gmail.com