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Philly House, Philadelphia’s longest-running homeless shelter of 146 years, is now serving the homeless population from a mobile kitchen in the shelter’s parking lot. This change comes after an August building inspection found water damage in the kitchen, causing the floorboards to be removed, rendering their kitchen unusable.

“This is the first Thanksgiving in which we’re not going to be able to serve walk-ins,” said the Rev. Jeremy Montgomery, president and CEO of Philly House.

With no help from insurance, which only covers “sudden” circumstances, Philly House must pay the full $300,000 to replace the floor directly out of pocket. For now, the shelter uses a mobile kitchen with a walk-in fridge.

Before the damage, Philly House was able to accommodate up to 600 people for every meal. The shelter serves a public lunch and dinner, while breakfast is for registered guests only.

“Right now, we’re even limited to 120. … And so we’ve had to keep close tabs on those who are walking in our doors because we run out of food,” Montgomery said. “We pride ourselves on always being open 365 days of the year and some of these individuals I only get to see once a year. So, I never miss a Thanksgiving myself being at Philly House. … It’s going to be really disappointing this year to have to refer them to other opportunities to be at other tables.”

Registered residents only

This Thanksgiving, Philly House will only be able to serve registered residents who are currently employed. It’s a dramatic shift from previous years when they could serve walk-ins.

To maintain a traditional Thanksgiving for all, the holiday meal served every year is turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, casserole and pie. It is expected that Philly House’s kitchen will remain under construction until late January, affecting Christmas as well.

Michael Johnson, director of donor experience, is optimistic considering the unforeseen circumstances.

“The good news is that even with a mobile kitchen, we are still able to serve folks and we are still able to get meals out every day, even for walk-ins,” Johnson said. “It just means that on some of the bigger things, like Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day, we’re not able to serve quite as many. And that’s hard. That’s hard on us because we really do feel strongly this purpose of reminding everyone that God does not make disposable people.”