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| Fall 2008
A publication of The Mitzvah Food Project
Center for Social Responsibility, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia |
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| Greetings! |
Welcome to our second edition of Food For Thought, a publication designed to provide you with information about the Mitzvah Food Project (MFP), as well as updates on hunger issues facing our community and opportunities to get involved as a MFP advocate, volunteer, educator or recipient. We'll be publishing quarterly, bringing you news and views about the MFP and the volunteers who make it all possible. Please help us spread the word and invite your co-workers, friends and family to visit our website at www.jewishphilly.org/mfp and sign up to receive the Food For Thought e-mail newsletter.
L'SHANA TOVA TO ALL OUR READERS AND VOLUNTEERS!
Drisana Davis
Mitzvah Food Project
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Lee Hillerson
Mitzvah Food Project Advisory Board Chair |
| Mitzvah Food Project High Holiday Food Drive |
| The Mitzvah Food Project High Holiday Food Drive is being supported by more than 50 synagogues and Jewish organizations again this year! Please help us continue the mitzvah of helping those in need this holiday season by volunteering to sort food that was donated during our food drive. The event will be held at the SHARE Warehouse on October 19th. Click here to download the registration form and help us spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers, local schools and Jewish organizations. |
| Cereal Business |
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Do you know that we currently have to purchase over 90% of the cereal we distribute each month? Even though we order cereal in bulk from Philabundance, the Project spends an average of $3,600 each month on this item alone.
With food prices rising and donations becoming less available, the costs will continue to increase. Yet cereal continues to be the most requested item by families and seniors, since it is an easy and nutritious meal to prepare for breakfast - the most commonly skipped meal of the day. |
| NewsLine |
Pinched, Food Pantries Find Reach Limited
June 8, 2008, The New York Times
By Mary Jo Patterson
After leaving work the other day and gathering up her three children, Cheryl DeRosa had one more stop before heading home: the food pantry.
For the third time this year, paying the bills had left Mrs. DeRosa, a Bergenfield, N.J., resident, without enough money to feed her children, ages 2, 4 and 10. Mrs. DeRosa is employed full time as a teacher's assistant at a preschool, and her husband, who is disabled, works part time at a supermarket. But their combined income was not enough to cover food costs last month. Click here to read the entire article. | |
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Mitzvah Food Project Advisory Board Lee Hillerson, Chair
Peggy Carver, Esq.
Nina Cohen
Drisana Davis
Ruth Firth
Jerrold Frezel
Madelyn Karasick
Mary Kirsch
Ruth Laibson
Janet Levin
Cookie Perilstein
Robin Rifkin
Lainey Simonson
Mona Sutnick
Sheila Weiss
Judith Woloff
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| Dinner Table Conversation - Feed Your Mind |
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What If We Do Nothing?
The consequences of hunger are enormous. Consider the following:
*Unhealthy Children
Pregnant women who are undernourished are more likely to have low birth-weight babies. These infants are more likely to suffer delays in their development and are more likely to endure behavior and learning problems later in life. *Poor Academic PerformanceSchool children who go hungry have lower test scores, poor attendance, and display more disruptive behavior. *Compromised HealthAs senior citizens are forced to spend more and more on prescription drugs, they have less money for food, which can add to their diet-related health problems. *Increased Health CostsMany diabetics must control their condition with insulin. Without food, insulin will not work and diabetes will not be controlled. Uncontrolled diabetes leads to problems with the eyes, kidneys and nervous system. Each year diabetes costs this country $98 billion in both direct medical costs and indirect costs like disability, work loss, and premature mortality. *For more Hunger Education information, please visit our website at www.jewishphilly.org/mfp and click on the Hunger Education Download. |
| Make Your Voice Heard! |
Food Crisis 101: Skyrocketing Food Prices and the Impact on Domestic Hunger
What is the extent of the recent food crisis?
Over the past several years, food inflation has occurred at a relatively stable rate, an average of approximately 2.7 percent per year (with the exception of 1989 and 1990 when there were serious droughts). However, between January of 2007 and January of 2008, the cost of food rose dramatically (an average of 5.8 percent inflation), with certain staples such as milk (which jumped 11 percent) and eggs (which rose 29.2 percent) skyrocketing. Between March of 2007 and March of 2008, the numbers are even more dramatic. The price of basic commodities saw striking increases, with the price of corn rising by 31 percent, the price of rice rising by 74 percent, and the price of wheat rising by 130 percent.
For full article, please click here.
What can you do?
Advocate!
Anti-hunger activists are asking Congress to pass a second economic stimulus package that would: · Provide a temporary and timely increase in the food stamp benefit to help families adjust to rising food prices · Increase WIC (The Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children) funding to ensure that all eligible participants can continue to receive this vital benefit · Provide additional TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) funding to help food banks meet the increased demand on their services Published in Confronting Poverty, a publication of Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)For full article, click here. For more information, please join the Mitzvah Food Project's Advocacy Net. |
| Volunteer Spotlight - Sally & Sam Paletz |
 It is important as human beings and as Jewish people to give back to the community.
---Sam Paletz
"How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
--Anne Frank
For Sally and Sam Paletz appreciative smiles and heartfelt "thank yous" are an incredibly rewarding part of their lives. Dedicated JCCs Kevy K. & Hortense M. Kaiserman Branch volunteers, Sally and Sam pack and deliver Mitzvah Food Project packages to senior residents of Brith Sholom House who are in urgent need of nutritious food. "We're getting far more than we're giving," they say. "The time that we volunteer comes back in triplicate." Click here to read more. |
| You Can Make a BIG Difference! |
| Here at the Mitzvah Food Project, we bring people together to perform mitzvot (good deeds) and to do gemilut hasadim (acts of loving kindness). Though the MFP is serving an increasing number of clients, there is still much we must do to reduce hunger and malnutrition in our community.
If you would like to make a donation to the Mitzvah Food Project, volunteer at one of our five pantry sites, or find out more about our program, please contact Drisana Davis at 215-832-0531 or ddavis@philafederation.org | |
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Federation's Mitzvah Food Project thanks volunteer Rhoda Weiner for donating her time and writing assistance to make Food for Thought possible.
The Mitzvah Food Project thanks all of its volunteers for making it possible for our hunger relief project/program to meet the most basic needs of Greater Philadelphia's at-risk community members. |
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| The mission of the Mitzvah Food Project is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in a caring and dignified manner, and to educate and advocate on behalf of those in need. The Project works in partnership with volunteers and community groups, spearheaded by synagogues and Jewish organizations. | |
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