Federation Addressing Hunger at Home and Abroad

Feasting at Rosh Hashanah, fasting on Yom Kippur, thinking about Sukkot and Thanksgiving dinners... With so much focus on food at holiday times, it is not always easy to remember those who struggle to put meals on their tables every day. Yet, millions of people in Miami, in Israel and in communities around the world suffer from hunger and “food insecurity” every day.

For decades, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and our local and overseas partner agencies have worked together to create a number of outstanding programs that address these vital issues.

Thanks to community support of the Annual Federation/UJA Campaign and special funding initiatives, we are helping to feed the hungry through:

• The JCS Kosher Food Bank, supermarket gift cards and other services provided by Federation’s local partner, Jewish Community Services of South Florida

• Home-delivered kosher meals and congregate meal sites for frail seniors and Holocaust survivors in Miami

• Food Insecurity Amutot (non-governmental organizations) in Israel, which rescue and redistribute food from restaurants and farms, among other activities

• Hesed (welfare) Centers run by Federation’s overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), which provide food packages, hot meals or food cards to frail seniors in the former Soviet Union

Federation’s Jewish Volunteer Center (JVC) and Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) also offer a number of programs during the year that focus on hunger and food insecurity. Among them is the JVC’s Everything... but the Turkey event, an opportunity to prepare holiday dishes for those in need on November 21 and 22, the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

In addition, JCRC members will participate in a nationwide Food Stamp Challenge, October 27-November 3, as part of the Fighting Poverty with Faith initiative created by a national alliance of faith-based groups working to end poverty in the U.S. by 2020. The idea of the Food Stamp Challenge is to live for one week on the average food stamp allotment of $31.50, to raise awareness of the challenges facing the needy in America. Future advocacy efforts will focus on ensuring that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other feeding programs are protected during the federal budget process and the re-authorization of the Farm Bill in 2012.

You can make a difference in our community’s efforts to feed the hungry by donating items to the JCS Kosher Food Bank (call 305.576.6550), by volunteering at programs like Everything... but the Turkey (email [email protected]), and/or by making a gift to the Annual Federation/UJA Campaign (click here to make a donation quickly and securely online, or call 305.576.4000). Any and all help is always appreciated.