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| Winter 2010
A publication of the Mitzvah Food Project
Center for Social Responsibility, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia |
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GREETINGS!
Welcome to our seventh edition of Food For Thought, a publication designed to provide you with information about the Mitzvah Food Project (MFP), updates on hunger issues facing our community and opportunities to get involved as an MFP advocate, volunteer, educator or recipient. We publish 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-newsletter.
Your Opinion Counts!
And...because successful communication and collaboration are fundamental to the success of our program, we are hoping that Food For Thought will serve as a "two-way street." Your contributions, comments and observations are vital components of our newsletter. So, please be in touch. If you have ideas about articles, information that you'd like to see us highlight, reflections on Mitzvah Food Project activities, or commentary on Food For Thought articles, please email ddavis@jfgp.org
Drisana Davis
Mitzvah Food Project
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Lee Hillerson
Mitzvah Food Project Advisory Board Chair |
| Mitzvah Food Project Update |
It's the New Year and MFP is expanding its efforts in order to meet the needs of the families we serve.
Our distributions now include fresh produce:
 We are excited to announce our new partnership with the Common Market, a wholesale consolidator, marketer and distributor of food produced in the Philadelphia region. The Common Market works to connect local farmers with businesses and provides produce at an affordable price. With the high price of produce at stores, we often hear from our recipients that they are unable to provide their families with the proper foods to stay healthy. We welcome this opportunity to help our clients gain access to nutritional fresh food, a critical need in our community, and to help local farmers in the process. We thank the Common Market for expanding their services to include food pantries. Currently, produce from the Common Market is being distributed at two of our five pantry locations, Beth Sholom and the JCCs Stiffel Senior Center.
Needed for donations: Household items & Gluten-free products
 Thank you for all the ongoing food donations that contribute greatly to meet the needs of our recipients! In addition to the non-perishable food items we distribute, many recipients are in need of household items (paper towels, toilet paper, and other household basics). If you are thinking of making a donation or hosting a drive, please keep household items in mind.
In addition to our numerous recipients who have special dietary needs such as low-sugar and low-salt food, another food-related illness has been brought to our attention. Several recipients served by the Kaiserman and Beth Sholom pantry sites have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease (CD), a genetic disease that affects 1 of every 133 Americans. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed.* Gluten-free products are often extremely costly and are not always readily available at pantries. Therefore, we are asking for donations that include gluten-free products so that we may meet the needs of families with Celiac Disease.
Join us in our advocacy efforts:
Beyond providing these basic and vital staples to those in our community who need it most, MFP is calling upon its supporters to ensure that our organization can continue to do this work! Please join us in our advocacy efforts by taking two minutes out of your day to call the Governor's office and ask him to allocate 22 million dollars to the State Food Purchase program for the 2010-2011 budget. Please see "Dinner-Table conversation" for more details.
Please contact Drisana Davis at ddavis@jfgp.org for information regarding any of the above issues.
* http://www.celiac.org/ |
| Newsline |
Hunger in U.S. at a 14-Year High
By Jason DeParle
Published: November 16, 2009
The New York Times
Washington: The number of Americans who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food soared last year, to 49 million...
Click here for complete 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
Robin Rifkin
Lainey Simonson
Mona Sutnick
Sheila Weiss
Judith Woloff
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| Dinner Table Conversation |
The Mitzvah Food Project is working to enhance its advocacy efforts. While providing direct food assistance to low-income families remains our main focus, in order to ensure that our families receive the best possible care, we need your help in advocating for federal and state policies that seek long term solutions for hunger elimination.
This month, we are calling on your support to advocate for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP). This program "provides cash grants to counties for the purchase and distribution of food to low income individuals." For more information on SFPP, please click here
The Mitzvah Food Project receives its SFPP money from SHARE, located in North Philadelphia ( http://sharefoodprogram.org/ ). In the last couple of years, the Mitzvah Food Project was able to secure $100,000 annually, but due to funding cuts in the program, we now receive $36,000 annually.
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| Volunteers Spotlight: |
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THE STRAFF FAMILY
After the verb 'to Love,' 'to Help' is the most beautiful verb in the world.
--Bertha von Suttner
 In planning the celebration of Rachel Meilouise Ortlinghaus Straff's Bat Mitzvah, Rachel's Dad, Seth, had a brilliant idea. Because Rachel was dedicated to sharing her gifts with the world...because she wanted to feed the hungry...Seth had Rachel's Bat Mitzvah invitations printed on recyclable shopping bags, and invited guests to fill the bags with non-perishable foods and bring them to Or Ami on the night of Rachel's Bat Mitzvah, October 4, 2009.
 In the coat room of the synagogue, Seth and Ruth and their enthusiastic helpers unpacked the bags and filled 25 boxes, which were donated to the Mitzvah Food Project. "Our guests were thrilled and excited to be a part of Rachel's tzedaka project," Seth says. "She always wants to help those in need, and having the support of her family and friends on this momentous day was truly extraordinary."
Here at the Mitzvah Food Project, we are profoundly grateful for the Straff family's wonderful contribution to the fulfillment of our mission. Dedicated, caring, and incredibly creative, they inspire us all.
MOISH AND JOYCE SHOR
 For Moish and Joyce Shor, volunteering is an essential part of their lives. Once each month, Moish and Joyce meet Frank De Simone and Cathy Frank at the Stiffel Center to help the Mitzvah Food Project provide ongoing food relief to vulnerable households.On a typical day, from 10 am to noon, Moish, Joyce and Frank pack Shabbat bags for members of the Senior Center. From 1 pm to 3 pm, Cathy, Frank, Joyce and Moish provide needy neighbors with food that has been packed and stored at the Stiffel Center. They also give each recipient a note listing the pick-up date for the following month."Being a volunteer makes me feel so good," Moish says. "I get far more out of it than I give."
Close to seven years ago, an ad in the Jewish Exponent seeking volunteers at Stiffel Center, attracted Moish's attention. A real South Philly kid, Moish loves being back in the old neighborhood. "When I was a kid, people did things for me," he recalls. "I went to a camp for Jewish children of modest income, and I have always been appreciative of other people's contributions. The staff at Stiffel is super, and my work here is very rewarding."
Moish and Joyce live on their beautiful farm and belong to Tifferet Bet Israel. Moish's first volunteer job after his retirement from Merck was at a riding facility for folks who were physically and mentally challenged. He also loves to provide pony rides for kids during his synagogue's Purim Carnival. And, Moish and Joyce have also joined Volunteers for Israel, a non-political, non-profit organization offering volunteers the opportunity to live and work alongside Israelis on military bases for 2-3 weeks each year, performing non-combat civilian support duties such as packing medical supplies, repairing machinery and equipment, sorting clothes, and maintaining the base.
The proud parents of Phil, Natalie and Karen and the very proud grandparents of Katie, Ben, Josh, and Matthew, Moish and Joyce Shore are highly valued members of the Mitzvah Food Project team. We are enormously appreciative of their wonderful work. |
| You Can Make a Big Difference! |
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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 gift to the Mitzvah Food Project, volunteer at one of our five pantry sites, or find out more about our program, please visit our website at www.jewishphilly.org/mfp or contact Drisana Davis at 215-832-0531 or ddavis@jfgp.org
The Mitzvah Food Project thanks all of its volunteers and its partnership with SHARE and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger for making it possible for us to meet the most basic needs of Greater Philadelphia's at-risk community members.
We would also like to express our gratitude to our generous sponsors, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and Lincoln Financial, as well as hundreds of individual donors. Thank you for your invaluable support! | |
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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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