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EVJCC, St. Vincent de Paul to start kosher food pantry

by | Oct 7, 2021 | Community, CORE | 0 comments

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The East Valley JCC will host a monthly kosher food pantry beginning Wednesday, Oct. 27 in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul. The JBox Food Pantry will be St. Vincent de Paul’s first partnership for a kosher pantry in Arizona.

“We are honored to be part of making this important pantry possible for the community,” SVdP Director of Food Services Danielle McMahon said. “Not only is it a chance to make sure no person goes hungry, but also an opportunity to combine the great kindness, service and reach of both St. Vincent de Paul and East Valley JCC.”

“We are thrilled to offer this service to our community in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul and our other partners,” said Rabbi Michael Beyo, CEO of the East Valley JCC. “Many people face hunger each day and we feel that it’s our responsibility to do what we can to help alleviate hunger.” According to the Arizona Food Bank Network, one in seven Arizonans face food insecurity, more than 311,000 of them children. 

Not only is it a chance to make sure no person goes hungry, but also an opportunity to combine the great kindness, service and reach of both St. Vincent de Paul and East Valley JCC.

Danielle McMahon, St. Vincent de Paul director of food services

Partial funding for this project was provided by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chandler, a frequent partner of EVJCC community service programs.

“I’ve personally known several of the people associated with the East Valley JCC for years and feel honored to call them my friends,” said Robin Finlinson, community outreach and JustServe Specialist at the Chandler church. “I’m thrilled that our congregations are able to work together often to help people in need in various ways – now including the kosher food bank.”

The food pantry is open to all. Registrations must be made a week in advance. Those who sign up will pick up pre-packaged bags of nonperishable food 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month outside the EVJCC in the back parking lot. There is no delivery at this time. To sign up to pick up groceries at the Oct. 27 Food Pantry, register at evjcc.org/foodpantry by Oct. 20. 

Volunteers are needed to help assemble bags of groceries each month. For the first distribution, volunteers are needed at the EVJCC at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, to help prepare the bags and then 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 to help distribute the food. Those interested in volunteering can sign up on JustServe.org.