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August 30, 2013
Help needed to fill shelves
Project Isaiah is seeking more community donations, support.
KYLE BERGER
“Share your bread with the hungry.” This is what is written in Isaiah 58:7. And this is the premise behind Project Isaiah, the annual food drive that the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) and Jewish Women International-British Columbia facilitates each year.
According to JFSA’s Jewish Food Bank coordinator Debbie Rootman, there was a 38 percent drop in donations for last year’s drive compared to 2011, leaving the organizations struggling to keep food on the shelves.
“There was less variety and amounts of food available for recipients and we were scrambling to ‘fill the shelves’ and stay within our budget,” Rootman explained. “Individuals or families who access the food bank once or twice a month only receive enough food for three to four days each visit.”
The project has an annual goal of collecting 500 bags of food. Rootman said that, in the five years she has been volunteering and working with the organization, she has seen an increase in the number of families in need. A drop in support and/or donations makes the allocation assignment that much harder.
“Besides providing food for individuals, seniors, families and newcomers, we are now seeing many more working poor,” she said, noting that the Jewish Food Bank currently provides food for 210 households, including 250 adults and 80 children.
Each year for Project Isaiah, shopping bags are handed out at most local synagogues during Rosh Hashanah and congregants are encouraged to fill and return them on Yom Kippur. The food is then sorted and packed in storage until needed. This year, bags can also be dropped off at local Jewish day schools, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver or the JFSA office until Sept. 20.
Each year, approximately 50 percent of all in-kind food donations are collected during Project Isaiah. JFSA also welcomes financial donations to pay for purchasing what is needed.
Rootman explained that the shopping list is pretty simple.
“The suggested shopping list should include nutritionally dense items such as canned fish, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables, whole grain pasta/rice and cereals, canned or dry legumes, pasta sauce or dried fruit and nuts,” she said, adding that meat products should be excluded. “We also provide special foods for the holidays, such as honey, challah and honey cake for Rosh Hashanah, usually supported by the generosity of private donors.”
JFSA has added a new initiative to help drive contributions up this year. Check Out Hunger allows people to make a donation to the Jewish Food Bank at various participating stores and restaurants. They are currently set up at Kosher Food Warehouse, Omnitsky’s and Sabra, with more locations to be added soon.
“You pick the coupon that suits your budget and have the merchant add it to your bill,” Rootman said. “One hundred percent of your donation goes to the Jewish Food Bank.”
Coupons are: $3 for a child’s healthy snacks for a week, $10 provides canned fish for a family of four and $18 provides four bags of groceries for an individual.
To discuss and determine more ways in which the community can alleviate hunger, JFSA and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver are hosting a forum on Oct. 1 at Temple Sholom. More information on the forum, called Food, Dignity and Choice: Ending Hunger in the Jewish Community, or on
Project Isaiah, can be found by calling 604-637-3317, e-mailing [email protected] or visiting jfsa.ca.
Kyle Berger is a freelance writer in Richmond.
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