A Jewish Response to Hunger

Relationship Centers Around Capacity Building and Will Help Grow Alpert JFS’ Network and Reach in South Florida Community

WEST PALM BEACH, FL, UNITED STATES, June 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Ferd & Gladys Alpert Jewish Family Service (Alpert JFS) has announced a new partnership with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a national organization fighting to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and Israel. Through the partnership, Alpert JFS’ Satell Ending Food Insecurity Emerging Leadership Initiative members will have the opportunity to learn from the experts at MAZON.

The partnership kicked off in May with a session featuring conversations on hunger in the U.S., recognizing food insecurity, forging relationships, facilitating programs in the local community, and more. MAZON’s leadership team – including Naama Haviv, Vice President of Community Engagement; Liz Braun-Lilenfeld, Deputy Director of Outreach; and Paul Sherman, Outreach Manager – guided the interactive discussion with Satell participants.

Alpert JFS desires to end food insecurity in Jewish households within its catchment area among a particular segment of the food insecure population known as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). To accomplish this ambitious goal, Alpert JFS engages with emerging Jewish leaders in order to educate, empower and activate. These emerging Jewish leaders are responsible for doing community outreach to locate Jewish ALICE households. They are also responsible for securing donations of food to the Alpert JFS Kosher Food Pantry from the community.

According to the United Way of Palm Beach County’s 2020 ALICE Report for Palm Beach County, 46% of Palm Beach County households struggle to make ends meet, and 12% of households are living below the Federal poverty level. Alpert JFS, which serves Palm Beach County households – Boynton Beach and north – currently has two kosher food pantries, offering non-perishable kosher food, household necessities and personal hygiene products, in addition to assisting with holiday meal deliveries for Rosh Hashanah, Thanksgiving and Passover.

“Alpert JFS is committed to ending food insecurity and hunger in our Jewish community in a respectful and dignified way,” said Marc Hopin, CEO of Alpert JFS. “For years, we have provided kosher food to vulnerable Jewish individuals and families in our area who face food insecurity, embodying the value of Tikkun Olam by supporting the most basic of human needs. Now with the support of MAZON, our efforts will go much further.”

“Our outreach and education work centers around capacity building, to hone and direct the powerful voice of our Jewish communities to support the anti-hunger movement, building the necessary political will to make change,” added Haviv. “This partnership with Alpert JFS is such a perfect encapsulation of that. We are energized by their Ending Food Insecurity Emerging Leadership Initiative. Our colleagues are nurturing a cohort of leaders ready to engage deeply on hunger in their communities.”

Haviv continues: “Together, we see this as a model that could be replicated nationally, creating potential for exponential impact. Coupled with MAZON’s grants program, which seeks to empower and grow state-based capacity building efforts within the anti-hunger movement and has new beneficiaries in Florida, this shidduch between MAZON and the Alpert JFS also allows us to bolster the advocacy goals of our grantee partners while continuing to grow MAZON’s network in the deep, flourishing Jewish community across Florida.”

About Alpert JFS

Established in 1974, Ferd & Gladys Alpert Jewish Family Service is a nationally accredited service provider for children, adults, seniors, and Holocaust survivors. The non-profit, non-sectarian organization is a trusted leader, with a team of nearly 200 highly skilled professionals delivering high-quality care to community members. Alpert JFS works to ensure the well-being of children and families, independence of older adults and quality-of-life for individuals with disabilities. For more information, visit www.alpertjfs.org or call via phone at 561-684-1991.     

About MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger: Inspired by Jewish values and ideals, MAZON is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States. MAZON is a leading voice in the anti-hunger field, developing strategic initiatives focused on communities that are at particular risk of hunger and have often been overlooked. MAZON illuminates the needs and challenges of specific populations who experience hunger more acutely than the general public. Working together with partner organizations, we identify long-term solutions so that these populations can feed themselves and their families with dignity. Learn more at mazon.org.

Melissa Perlman
BlueIvy Communications
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