Page 6 - JR March 3 21 FINAL

Jewish community steps up HELPING

once again to fight hunger (from page 1)

BY DEBORAH MOON Congregation Kesser Isra-
Food insecurity in Oregon el and the Portland Kollel
and other rooms in the
is at the highest rate in over a same building for a short
century according to the Ore- school day.
gon Food Bank. That’s saying “A number of families
something for a state the USDA were still without power,
said might have been the hun- so the kids were happy to
griest state in the nation in be in a warm place and
1999. happy to see each other,”
So this year, Portland’s Jew- says Rabbi Skolnik.
ish community has organized One Maayan parent was
a pre-Passover food drive (see so grateful when her pow-
box) with drop sites in SW, NE er came on after three days
and SE Portland and Hillsboro. that she decided to orga-
Donations of nonperishable nize helping other families
foods will be distributed at Last fall, 78 households responded to the call to aid those facing who were still in the cold.
three food pantries that partner food and housing insecurity and dropped off 745 food sacks and Amy Sohn started a Goo-
with the Oregon Food Bank in other essentials on Mitzvah Morning. Now, more drop off sites have gle doc for people to list
different parts of the greater been added for a pre-Passover food drive to bring in even more what they could provide or
metro area. food for three food pantries serving different parts of the greater share.
“We’re proud of having four metro area. “But people without pow-
drop sites and so many Jewish er couldn’t see the spread-
community partners and recip- PRE-PASSOVER FOOD DRIVE sheet, so it became a tool
ient organizations,” says Caron for me to connect people,”
Blau Rothstein, JFGP director says Amy. She connected
of community planning and a WHEN: March 14, 2021, 12:30-2 pm about a dozen volunteers
co-organizer of the event. with seven families who
As you do your spring clean- WHERE: Four drop-off locations in Southwest, needed warm meals and
ing and scour your pantry to Northeast and Southeast Portland and in Hills- other resources.
clear out your hametz (leav- boro. Register (see below) to select your drop- In Northeast Portland,
ened products) before Pass- off site. You will receive drop-site location and Rabbi Chaim Wilhelm
over, gather food to donate to address with your confirmation. activated the 2-year-old
feed people who may not know Chesed Connection to get
where their next meal is com- WHAT: Nonperishable, nonexpired foodstuffs hot soup to people with-
ing from. out power. The Chesed
The Jewish community has (please no inherently unkosher products like Connection is Chabad of
long taken leadership roles in shellfish and pork) Northeast Portland’s vol-
battling Oregon’s hunger crisis. unteer group, which pro-
Emily Gottfried, z”l, American RECIPIENTS: Three food pantry partners of the vides support in times of
Jewish Committee-Oregon, and Oregon Food Bank need or joy. Rabbi Wilhelm
Bob Horenstein, Jewish Feder- delivered many containers
ation of Greater Portland, were CO-HOSTS: Jewish Federation of Greater Port- of hot soup himself.
among the statewide conveners land, Portland Jewish Academy, Chabad Jewish When Rabbi Wilhelm
of the Oregon Faith Roundtable Center of Hillsboro, Chabad of Northeast Port- walked down one block
Against Hunger, which kicked where three transform-
off at the first annual Harvest of land and Eastside Jewish Commons ers had blown, he found
Hope breakfast in October of most people had left their
2003. Thanks in part to the ef- REGISTRATION: jewishportland.org/fooddrive homes. But he saw one
forts of OFRAH, Oregon soon house with candlelight and
dropped out of the top 10 hun- QUESTIONS: ecohn-rozansky@pjaproud.org went to check. He says the
griest states. man had stayed because he
The 2008 recession upped had a dog.
hunger numbers again. Ore- The COVID economic crisis hence one in four, Oregonians “He was grateful some-
gon fought back again, and its that began in spring 2020 re- experiencing food insecurity in one stopped by checking
steady decline in food insecuri- versed all of that progress. 2020. The crisis has brought the on him,” says Rabbi Wil-
ty from around 2014 represent- A December 2020 study from state to levels of food insecurity helm. “Knowing people
ed the greatest improvement by Oregon State University found not seen before. care is very, very powerful
any one state over that five-year the food insecurity rate in Or- So once again, please join in these times. That’s what
period according to a 2020 re- egon had more than doubled in the local Jewish community in the Chesed Connection is.”
port from the USDA. a year, with at least 1 million, stepping up to do our part.
6 Jewish Review March 3, 2021