Easter celebration comes early for those in need as nonprofit works to serve 25K in North Philly

FAIRHILL - A nonprofit is helping those in need have a great Easter, while partnering with churches to help feed 25,000 people. Saturday, they held an Easter celebration at their free grocery store.

Small Things Market in the Fairhill Section of Philadelphia provided free groceries and an Easter celebration for families on Saturday.

Children jumped and played in the moon bounce, the Easter Bunny made an appearance and there were bunny bags filled with treats and toys. Small Things Philly also prepared smoothies, a warm meal and snacks for everyone.

"We wanted to make it special for the community and the families that we serve. We figured we should give out more food and allow them to have a good Easter this season. We have little bunny bags that have treats and snacks in them and Play-Doh and different stuff for the kids. We have a moon bounce, fresh food, smoothies, so we have a whole bunch of stuff for people to do today," said Executive Director Vito Baldini of Small Things. "My two daughters are actually the ones who put the bags together. So, we assembled them at home with some of our neighbors and they really wanted to be able to give back to the kids in this neighborhood."

The nonprofit Small Things Philly opened the free grocery store in November at 3510 A Street. The community can shop and choose the items they want on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Anna Dejesus was volunteering for the first time on Saturday handing out food to her neighbors. She shops at the free market once a week, on Fridays.

"Thank God for it, because this is really, really a blessing," said Dejesus. "I’m a single mom, you know, doing everything I have to do for my son. My son is around here, helping out also. They help a lot of people in need and it’s really nice because their products are fresh."

The community also had a chance to connect with resources in the community for information on health and wellness, finances and education.

The Philadelphia Gospel Movement is a partner of Small Things Philly and a team even provided prayer to those who asked for it.

"The beauty of it is we want to treat this community with dignity. Dignity making them feel value in every way," said Executive Director Terry Davis of Philadelphia Gospel Movement. "So many people from this community come out three times a week to Small Things, and they are getting taken care of and so for a day like this where now the moon bounce and all of the giveaways and the music, and to be able to have a free moment just to relax and be taken care of this is beautiful."

Small Things Philly is a nonprofit food distributor founded in 2020 to fight food insecurity. Since its launch, the nonprofit has distributed more than 15 million pounds of food to its partners.

This past Easter week alone, it partnered with 28 Philadelphia churches to have a total outreach of 100,000 pounds of food for 25,000 people.