It has been said before and its bears repeating — there are hungry Jewish people in Kansas City. KC Kosher Meals on Wheels (KMOW) is one of the organizations that strives to help these people by providing healthy, kosher meals and companionship to any member of the Jewish community who is elderly, living with a disability or recovering from illness. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}KMOW began delivering meals to seven clients in May 2013. The list has now grown to 40, which is more than a 400 percent increase in only 20 months. The program serves people on both sides of the state line who live in Jackson County, Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.
“It’s a remarkable program that helps people in need in the Jewish community, and our clients really appreciate it,” said Esther Friedman, who oversees the project. Her son Rabbi Levi Friedman handles KMOW’s day-to-day operations and works alongside a corps of approximately 40 regular volunteers, including its very dedicated advisory committee consisting of Valerie Bordy, Jennifer Conoley, Eliana Gillom and Linda Goldstein.
“Some volunteers come weekly and some come twice a month,” said Friedman of those who cook and deliver meals. “Some people step in for emergencies. We are grateful in any ways our volunteers can help out.”
KMOW operates under the auspices of Torah Learning Center. Meals are cooked in its kosher kitchen and kept frozen in its industrial-sized freezers until volunteers can deliver them. Each client gets five frozen meals a week consisting of an entrée of beef or chicken, fresh vegetables or fruit, bread, soup and a dessert.
Many of KMOW’s clients are referred by Jewish Family Services, which operates food pantries on both sides of the state line as well.
“The need we answer is different,” said Friedman about KMOW. “We provide a home-cooked meal that they simply have to stick in their microwave and four minutes later they have a hot meal.”
“They don’t have to worry about getting out of the wheelchair, standing on their feet with a walker too long or the possibility of a fire. This way they have one hot meal a day,” she continued.
Special meals are provided for holidays. For Hanukkah the clients each got a meal with brisket and latkes. For Thanksgiving they were served turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes.
“We want them to be able to enjoy these holidays,” Friedman said.
Referrals also come from rabbis in the city as well as individuals.
Over the past two-plus years, including the time it took to get the program up and running, Friedman has relied on advice she has received by being a part of the Meals on Wheels Association of America.
“Besides referring people to us, it helps us know what’s going on with Meals on Wheels nationally and they do give us some funding specifically for kosher,” Friedman said. “It’s been a very good partnership.”
Funding is one of KMOW’s biggest needs right now, along with the constant need for more volunteers. The average cost of each meal — food only — is $6.25 per meal.
“With all the overhead, the real cost is closer to $13,” Friedman explained. “Kosher food is more expensive and to keep the food cost that low is remarkable.”
Nationally Meals on Wheels typically asks for a $3 donation. KMOW clients pay for the meals on a sliding scale. Two pay full price. The rest of the clients incomes are under the poverty level. Many clients can’t pay for the service at all.
Friedman explained their clients face a variety of challenges — they don’t have food security, they may have health issues, or major financial challenges.
“So we work with everyone in what they can give.”
In addition to the grants it receives from Meals on Wheels, KMOW heavily relies on private donations and grants from foundations. Food donations are very important to KMOW as well.
“Liberty Fruit and Arnie Caviar provide fresh fruits and vegetables and Steve Ellenberg’s Bagel Works provides bread products for us,” Friedman acknowledged.
The clients, such as an anonymous caller to The Chronicle, are appreciative.
“I was shocked to see the rabbi himself (Rabbi Benzion Friedman) delivering my meals. It is so wonderful,” said the caller in a voice message.
Friedman said the volunteers are devoted and work hard to earn clients appreciation.
“The meals may be cooked at Torah Learning Center but they are home-made meals. We have men and women who are very dedicated and they cook with care like they would be cooking for the home,” Friedman said.
“We make the meals so they should feel the care in the food,” she continued.
The number of people who need this type of program has startled Friedman a bit.
“I have always been delivering food, sometimes right before Shabbat or to people who recently got out of the hospital, but to see how many people need this program has been a surprise,” she said.
She didn’t realize how many of these people ached for companionship as well.
“We live in a community that if you cannot drive is very hard. It’s not a big city where people have stores around the corner … people are shut in and to see just how shut in people are has made us incredibly aware of how much this program is needed,” Friedman said.
“A lot of people simply don’t have anybody living close to them and sometimes even if the children are here they truly can’t be there as much as their parents might like,” she continued.
Friedman is thankful for the program as well.
“I can’t tell you how many times people beg me to visit. I’m grateful that we can provide companionship needed through our wonderful team of volunteers,” she said.
Amy Hyken and her 9-year-old son Julian deliver meals and have developed friendships with the clients they visit every other Sunday at The Atriums. Her son usually begins each visit by reading the menus to them.
“Then we basically hang out and talk,” said Hyken, who has volunteered with KMOW for about a year.
“We’ve even made friends with other residents there because Julian has done a couple of magic shows for them,” Hyken said.
She said the experience is much more than the task of delivering food.
“It’s more about the connections and the relationships that we make,” Hyken said.
A child and family therapist, Hyken truly believes in the importance of giving back and teaches that every chance she gets with her child.
“We volunteer a lot. He does really well with older people and we thought this would be a neat thing to do,” said Hyken, who is a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
Julian said it’s fun to deliver meals.
“We’ve made a friend connection,” said the fourth-grader who attends Brookridge Elementary School as well as Hebrew school at B’nai Jehudah. “We don’t just say hi, give them the food and then leave. We talk a lot, tell each other how our weekends were and things.
“It makes me feel like I’m helping people and it raises my pride bar in myself,” he continued.
Hyken said she likes the idea that they are helping people, but she especially likes the residents.
“They talk about their families and tell about their history and you really get to know them,” she said, adding that she was touched by one of their regulars who recently sent her a condolence card after he heard about a death in her family.
“It’s something we really enjoy doing,” said Hyken, who said they usually spend about an hour at The Atriums.
“It’s a great program. I’m glad it exists and we always need more volunteers.
As the program continues to grow, KMOW’s Friedman said the most rewarding thing is to see the gratitude from the recipients, and to see the relationships between the volunteers and the recipients.
“When I thank people for doing this, they say you have no idea what we get from this,” Friedman said.
Another thing Friedman enjoys about the program is that it’s gotten families, teenagers and young kids involved.
“It is so uplifting to hear children and teenagers say we truly care. We get donations from kids sometimes. It is so gratifying that they thought of us or the seniors and want to be part of this,” she said.
One of those teens is 16-year-old Emma Shapiro, who organized a cooking mitzvah event at KMOW for a group of girls from her chapter. She did so because she is very interested in the issue of hunger in America. As the chapter’s shlichah — the person in charge of pairing Judaism with community service — she thought helping KMOW was appropriate for the Jewish youth group.
While at KMOW, the BBGers spent some time with Rabbi Friedman.
“He talked about the importance of hunger within Judaism and the importance of helping,” said Emma, who is a member of Congregation Beth Shalom.
“I thought it was really neat and I’d love to go back there. I really liked the organization,” she said. “All the girls enjoyed it.”
“We’re obviously very lucky because not everyone is fortunate enough to have food on the table or the money to buy food, so it’s really important to donate to this cause, whether it’s your time or money to help supply food,” Emma added.
Esther Friedman definitely sees KMOW as a wonderful learning experience for those who volunteer.
“It’s a great educational tool for tzedakah, for visiting the sick, for respect for elders, for empathy, for kosher … the concept of what tikkun olam is. It’s purely a remarkable program. You can be in tune with your Judaism in a very special way, whether you are affiliated or not.”
KMOW can always use additional financial help and volunteers. For more information, contact KC Kosher Meals on Meals or call 913-735-3663{/mprestriction}
