Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers is a program that seeks to bring together different communities together for a meal and conversation in a common space. The program is a collaboration between the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, Reading Terminal Market, Vetri Foundation, the Human Relations Commission, and Fairmount Park Conservancy.


Background

Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers began in 2016 as a program hosted by Reading Terminal Market with the support of a Knight Cities Challenge grant. The goal was to use one common denominator – food — to bring people together and connect through cultural exchange.

Each meal brought a few different communities together to Reading Terminal Market and encouraged guests to engage in cooking demos to learn to cook one another’s food. The participants then sat down to enjoy their cooked meals together over conversation.

In 2019, with the support of the Knight Foundation, Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers expanded to four other locations in Philadelphia: FDR Park, Norris Square, Bartram’s Garden, and Vernon Park.

View the Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers recipes

To learn more about Fairmount Park Conservancy’s role in Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers, please contact our Chief Development Officer, Meg Holscher.