When celebrating special occasions — birthdays, anniversaries, bar and bat mitzvahs, or family milestones — many people in the Kansas City Jewish community are choosing to commemorate them by supporting the Jewish Family Services (JFS) pantry, either by organizing a food drive or by serving as a monthly “Pantry Sponsor.”
Donors can also support any JFS program to celebrate simchas. These generous gestures help ensure that families and individuals facing challenges and transitions have easy access to food through the JFS Food Pantry and other JFS services.
Recently, Wyatt Coppaken celebrated his bar mitzvah by hosting a food drive. Coppaken’s effort resulted in collecting 820 pounds of food that will help keep shelves stocked at both locations of the JFS Food Pantry. An anonymous donor saw a JFS social media post about Coppaken’s food drive and has offered to match Coppaken’s contribution.
Jody Gottlieb Ervin, one of JFS’s first food pantry volunteers, has made it a habit to celebrate her birthday by giving the gift of food to others. For the eighth year in a row, Gottleib Ervin and her two young grandsons have marked the occasion by delivering a carload of items for the pantry. This act of kindness reflects her commitment to caring for our neighbors and teaching her grandsons the value of tikkun olam — repairing the world.
This month, the family of Dr. David S. Jacobs is honoring his memory by sponsoring the JFS Food Pantry thanks to his wife Judy Jacobs, her children and grandchildren. A child of the Great Depression, Dr. Jacobs had a lifelong interest in helping those with food insecurity. Dr. Jacobs believed in community and public service and devoted his services to areas where he had professional expertise. Through its sponsorship of the JFS Food Pantry for November, the Jacobs’ family will be supporting the 500 families it serves.
Each of these contributions goes a long way in ensuring JFS can continue supporting those in need. A monthly pantry sponsorship ($10,000 donation) helps underwrite the cost of food JFS must purchase from Harvesters and other distributors to keep pantry shelves stocked. Hosting a food drive boosts pantry inventory and directly supports individuals and families experiencing difficult times.
To learn more about ways to support the food pantry, those interested can contact Jo Hickey, director of pantry partnerships, at . For opportunities to support other JFS programs and services, those interested can contact the development team at or (913) 730-1429.
