If you are spending Thanksgiving Day in the neighborhood, here’s the hours for assorted local stores, cafes and restaurants. And here’s our story on what to do and where to stay in West Philly for the holidays in case you missed it.

Aksum (4630 Baltimore Ave) – Thursday: Closed; Friday: Open for dinner.

Cafe Renata (4305 Locust St) – Wednesday: 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Thursday: Closed; Friday, Saturday & Sunday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. By the way, Cafe Renata will be serving complimentary mimosas with brunch on Black Friday and begin offering seasonal specials like: pumpkin french toast, cranberry chutney turkey club sandwiches and roasted butternut squash soups.

Earth Cup Coffee (45th & Pine) – Thursday: 7 a.m. – noon.

Green Line Cafe (all locations) – Wednesday: Close at 5 p.m.; Thursday & Friday: Closed.

Mariposa Food Co-op (4824 Baltimore Ave) – Wednesday: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Thursday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Milk & Honey Market  (4435 Baltimore Ave) – Thursday: Closed; Friday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Supreme Shop n Bag (43rd & Walnut) – Wednesday: 7 a.m. – 12 a.m.; Thursday: 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Fresh Grocer (4001 Walnut St)  – Thursday-Sunday: Open 24 hours.

VIX Emporium (5009 Baltimore Ave) – Wednesday: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Thursday: Closed; Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Thanksgiving is a great time to give back, so if you’re looking for some local causes to help this week you might want to consider donating to local food growers and distributors. Check out these two fundraising campaigns currently underway in the area.

‘Bring in the Harvest with Mill Creek Farm’ fundraising campaign

Photo via Indiegogo.com.

Mill Creek Farm, and urban educational farm operating at 49th and Brown in West Philly, is dedicated to improving access to fresh produce and building a healthy community. The farm underwent a lot of transition this year, bringing a new farmer, acting director and board of directors, and is trying to stay afloat through the end of this season and into the winter. The current fundraising goal is $13,400 and there are still 12 days to go. Here’s what your money will go toward, according to the project’s Indiegogo page:

• keep our farmers employed through the farmers market season
• continue offering affordable, fresh, vegetables at 2 weekly farm stands
• offer educational tours for students from pre-schoolers to undergrads

For more information and to donate go to: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bring-in-the-harvest-with-mill-creek-farm

The Fresh Food Hub Mobile Grocery Store expansion project

Photo from The Fresh Food Hub’s Facebook page.

The Fresh Food Hub, a mobile grocery store and farmers’ market bringing fresh and healthy food to Powelton, Mantua and Belmont neighborhoods, is raising funds for its expansion into other parts of Philadelphia. The project launched in Spring 2012 and as of August 2013 The Fresh Food Hub has distributed over 15 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and served over 1,500 West Philadelphia families.

The Fresh Food Hub fundraising campaign in on Kickstarter (some of you have probably seen it in the sidebar widget on West Philly Local) and there are still 11 days left to help. As of Monday, Nov. 25, 1:30 p.m., $8,555 has already been raised toward the $9,773 goal. To read more about The Fresh Food Hub and to donate, click here.

If you like the idea of the huge warehouse located at 3848 Lancaster Ave turning into a multi-use neighborhood event space for flea markets, food vendors, craft fairs, musical showcases, farmers markets, town fairs, expos, extravaganzas, contests, championships, food events, community events, karate demos, etc., you can show your support at tonight’s party at the space. The party called Lanxgiving will include performances by four bands – Pattern is Movement, Pile, Hound, and Amanda X. And hot food from Poi Dog and Ranch Road Tacos will be served with free cold drinks.

Entrance is from the rear of the building on Warren St. The event begins at 7 p.m. and here‘s its Facebook page.

Due to routine maintenance work, Trolley Routes 11, 13, 34 and 36 will be diverted to 40th and Market Streets, starting at 5:00 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 24 through 5:00 a.m. Monday, Nov. 25, according to an advisory released by SEPTA. Route 10 Trolleys will be diverted to 40th and Filbert Streets.

During this time, passengers can transfer at 40th Street to the Market-Frankford Line for travel to and from Center City. For more information, visit: http://www.septa.org/.

Project MEOW trappers like to make certain that their feral cats are well cared for during their spay or neuter surgery. Here’s Merlot, a newcomer to an established colony, being held in a warmed towel while he recovers from anesthesia. While PAWS is often used for local feral cat spay and neuters, The Spayed Club in Sharon Hill will hold feral cats overnight, which helps trappers make certain their cats are mostly recovered before being returned to them.

If you have too many unowned cats on your block, why not consider getting in touch with some of your neighbors and getting involved? Project MEOW can show you how to trap, may be able to provide transportation and recovery, and has traps to loan with a small deposit. It takes a team, and a lot of like-minded neighbors to solve a problem, but if many people volunteer to trap on their own blocks, very soon you will begin to see a lot less stray cats and kittens wandering around.

Project MEOW volunteers have reduced the numbers of kittens born every year on their own streets, often working alone or with one other neighbor. Want to stop the tide of spring kittens? Contact info@projectmeow.org to see how starting now can make a huge difference during the 2014 “kitten season.”

(Project MEOW’s Tracylea Byford contributed to this post. Photo credit: Dr. Sarah Alexander of The Spayed Club in Sharon Hill)

Editor’s Note: West Philly Local is proud to present the third in a series of vignettes of local block captains drawn from Them That Do, a multimedia documentary project and community blog by West Philly-based award-winning photographer Lori Waselchuk. Check Them That Do for more information, updates and additional photos.

Anita Harris’ inspiration to become block captain didn’t seem particularly ambitious when she started. “I needed something to do,” she explained.

Anita was already working fulltime as a secretary and raising her two daughters.  She simply wanted to make her block of 5300 Wyalusing safe and clean.

But I’ve learned to listen closely to Anita, because behind her efficient language is an ocean of commitment.

Early in Anita’s term as block captain, she met Skip Wiener of Urban Tree Connection. Skip’s organization was working with residents in the Haddington neighborhood to plant flower gardens and trees to rehabilitate crime-ridden vacant lots. Anita joined their efforts and was able to help build several gardens on and around her block.

Five years ago, Skip told Anita that he wanted to start growing food.  It was then that Anita devised a monumental plan for the ¾ acre abandoned lot behind her house.  The lot was once a construction company’s storage site, but it had been abandoned for over 30 years and still contained buried drums of oil and other hazardous construction waste.

“Why don’t we build a farm?” Anita asked as she showed Skip the property.

Skip remembers seeing the lot for the first time. “It was a nightmare. You couldn’t see a foot into the property because the weeds were so high. The space was being used as a chop shop, there were fires, nighttime prostitution, and drugs. It was a very dangerous place.”

For five years, Skip and Anita worked with residents, the city, volunteers, and organizations to clear the lot, remove the waste, replace the soil, and build an urban farm.  It has been slow and intense work, but The Farm at North 53^rd and Wyalusing is fully functional with three greenhouses, a packing shed, cold storage and compost stations.

The Farm produces and supplies fresh vegetables and herbs that are sold to Neighborhood Foods farm stands throughout Philadelphia. Anita spends her Saturdays picking, packing and selling the produce at the vegetable stand on the 600 block of North 53^rd Street, right around the corner from her home.

The 53^rd Street farm stand will open once more this year on Saturday, November 23^rd from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to help families prepare for Thanksgiving.