On Spring Garden Street between 35th and 36th, 12 garden beds line the perimeter of the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. Heads of cabbage still sway above the planks of wood, but the growing season is over. Soon the last few crops will be harvested, leaving the garden empty until next Spring.

But if a few Drexel University students have their way, the community will pick up the reigns and keep the garden alive for years.

For the most part, the garden was maintained through the growing season by the Drexel Urban Growers (DUG), a small group of students committed to urban farming and sustainability. The group began by building an urban apiary (beehive) on the campus garden at 33rd and Race, but they have since moved their work off the campus and into Mantua.

The Triskeles Foundation had already designated funding to build a garden at the Dornsife Center, but DUG simultaneously expressed interest and ended up helping with the construction and taking over as the garden’s caretaker. The only requirement by Triskeles was that half of all produce be donated to the community.

Christian Brown, president of DUG, noted that the group ended up donating more like 95 percent. “The community loved the produce. They’d often be lined up right when we started harvesting at 11 a.m.,” Brown said. “There was always more demand than supply.” Continue Reading

Last month, City Council passed an official resolution endorsing “Meatless Monday,” a national initiative to encourage individuals, families and businesses to curb meat consumption by taking a day off.

The resolution was sponsored by Councilman Bill Green and advocated by the Humane League, a national nonprofit working to reduce meat consumption and prevent animal cruelty. The organization worked closely with sponsoring Council Members to help them understand why less meat consumption is important.

“City Council looked at data regarding excessive meat consumption before considering the resolution,” said Rachel Acheson, Philadelphia director of the Humane League.

Of course, the resolution does not legally prevent anyone from getting their daily dose of protein, but it does show the city’s support for healthier and more environmentally sustainable eating habits.

“The beauty of ‘Meatless Monday’ is that it does not demand an ‘all or nothing’ approach. It offers a challenge that is do-able, one day a week in a catchy, creative way,” said Councilwoman At-Large Blondell Reynolds Brown, who co-sponsored the bill.

But will people actually give it a try? Some already have. Drexel University has been pushing Meatless Monday since last February. Drexel’s Sierra Student Coalition and Animal Welfare Association teamed up to promote Meatless Monday around the campus with the eventual goal of bringing the initiative into the university’s cafeterias.

This could serve as a precedent for the Humane League’s next big push. “Our eventual goal is to approach public schools,” Acheson said, adding that it’s crucial to change the eating habits of youth.

– Alex Vuocolo

(Photo via the Humane League)

Food Day is a national celebration of local food and community. It takes place on Thursday, Oct. 24 at locations around the country. Here in Philadelphia, Drexel University will host an evening of free food and a screening of the documentary, “A Place at the Table,” which explores the state of hunger in America.

The celebration is organized by a coalition of food-based organizations, including nonprofits, businesses and government agencies. There were over 3,000 events around the country in 2012.

From 12 to 2 p.m., Drexel student organizations focused on food and environmental justice will give presentations throughout the campus on topics ranging from veganism to factory farming.

The film screening will be at 6 p.m. There will also be a free meal, prepared by Drexel Culinary students, starting at 5 p.m.

“The food is FREE but we ask that students and attendees bring a food item to donate to People’s Emergency Center’s food bank as they are having difficulty filling their shelves, “ said Hayley Tintle, lead organizer of the event.

The event will take place in room 103 of Disque Hall, located between 31st and 32nd just below Market Street. For more information click here.

– Alex Vuocolo

In case you hadn’t heard, we wanted to let you know that Shake Shack, a well-known New York City-based fancy fast-food chain, opened a West Philly location this morning, according to a report by Philadelphia City Paper. The University City branch of Shake Shack is located at Chestnut Square, the recently completed mixed-use development on Drexel’s campus at 32nd and Chestnut. The two-story University City Shack includes a patio for al fresco dining. The restaurant will be open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

This is the second Shake Shack location in Philadelphia – the first one opened in summer 2012 in Center City at 20th and Sansom.

Recently, we reported that two other popular food joints have chosen West Philly for their new locations. HipCityVeg opened this week on 40th Street between Walnut and Locust and Federal Donuts is coming to our area in early 2014.

Photo by Alex Vuocolo/West Philly Local.

Chestnut Square, a mixed-use development located at 32nd and Chestnut Streets, has added more retail to its over 360,000 square-feet of space. The building now contains a total of seven businesses in addition to 19 stories of student housing and other amenities like study areas and a computer lab.

The newest retail additions include Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing, Yogorino, and a branch location of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. Four other food establishments– Joe Coffee, Shake Shack, Zavino and coZara— are already in the lineup.

Drexel University students and some businesses will be moving in within the month, as construction finishes up just eight months after the project broke ground.

Rendering of Chestnut Square. Image via americancampus.com.

Plaza Artist Materials should open as early as the next two weeks, while Yogorino, Joe Coffee and Shake Shack should open by mid-October. The rest will open between December and January, according to Jason Wills, senior vice president of campus development at American Campus Communities (ACC).

Wills explained that ACC has made a concerted effort to bring in a mix of retail options that are interesting and local to the region.

“We could have filled the space three times over with chains, but instead we really wanted to make it a cool Philadelphia square that felt like a good place to go for an evening,” Wills said.

ACC’s portfolio also includes another West Philadelphia building, University Crossings, a 30-story campus-housing building at 15 N. 32nd Street. It is perhaps most recognizable as the building that towers above the Firestone Tires store.

Though University Crossings will soon be refurbished and potentially given retail on its ground floor, according to Wills, the two developments couldn’t be more different.

Chestnut Square’s inclusion of retail reflects Drexel University’s most current thinking about what it wants its campus to look and feel like. As shown in Drexel’s campus master plan, a big part of this involves building denser housing and adding retail and other amenities to its educational and residential areas.

Wills credits Drexel University president, John Fry, for this change in culture.

“Among the things that [Fry] has committed to is was work to bring students out of absentee landlord situations in the neighborhoods and bring them back on campus,” Wills said. “He has also really tried to activate and urbanize the campus core.”

–Alex Vuocolo

This Thursday, Feb. 23, Drexel University’s Kal & Lucille Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies is hosting a special event celebrating the 25th anniversary of WHYY’s Radio Times, one of Philadelphia’s most longstanding talk radio programs. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at Ruth Auditorium (125 Nesbitt Hall, 3215 Market Street) and is free and open to the public.

The institute welcomes Radio Times host and executive producer Marty Moss-Coane for a talk discussing how you put together two hours of compelling talk radio five days a week and about the highs and lows of the past twenty five years of the show. Over these years, Marty Moss-Coane has interviewed more than twenty thousand guests – everyone from Salman Rushdie to Bobbie Mcferrin to Jane Fonda and countless politicians, educators, celebrities and opinion leaders.

Radio Times is one of the region’s most respected local, FM interview and call-in programs. For her work Marty Moss-Coane has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for Excellence in a Talk Show on radio; the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association for Excellence in Public Affairs; the American Women in Radio and Television for Excellence in focusing on the Women’s Movement; and by Philadelphia magazine for hosting the Best Radio Program in Philadelphia.

Radio Times airs weekday 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on WHYY 90.9 FM.