What a difference a couple of years can make. A little more than two years ago, the Vaad HaKashruth of Kansas City was a very small, staff-driven organization. Today, it is led by a board of directors — with support from every religious movement represented in the community — and is striving to become an integral part of the community.
The Vaad’s mission is the maintenance of kosher supervision here. Since July 5 Rabbi Mendel Segal has served as its full-time executive director.
The winds of change started blowing back in 2006, when Karen Pack was president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. In her role as president it was common for people in the Jewish community to discuss a variety of issues with her. During that time she learned some people in the community were not happy with the structure of the local Vaad.
Pack, who now serves as president of the Vaad’s board of trustees, explained that five years ago the Vaad was comprised of a mashgiach (on-site kosher supervisor) and was overseen by the rabbi of BIAV, who is the rav hamachshir (the certifying rabbi, now Rabbi Daniel Rockoff), and Rabbi Herbert Mandl, the chairman. Both rabbis still serve in these capacities in addition to their full-time congregation jobs.
So a dialogue ensued to find ways to integrate the Vaad more into the community, find more efficient ways to run it and expand it.
“Everybody basically realized that a very important part of the community had been ignored,” Pack said. “It’s come together very well, but it has taken five years for us to get to this point. We’re thrilled with the progress we’ve made.”
To get the ball rolling Pack said Steve Israelite volunteered his time to begin the research, which took about a year. Rabbi Amy Katz, before she left town, was involved in that process as well. That research led to two of the original recommendations — to form a community-based board of trustees and hire a full-time executive director.
A board of 17 people was put together, comprised of representatives from nearly all area congregations as well as several at-large members. Once the board was formed, plans began taking shape. Annette Fish, the administrator/program director of the Rabbinical Association, was also hired as the part-time interim director.
“Even though she was officially part-time, she put in a full-time effort. Without her diligence, hard work and dedication we would not be where we are today, or at a point where we were able to hire a full-time executive director,” Pack said.
Today’s Vaad
Pack is proud that the Vaad is now a full partnership of its lay leaders and its director, Rabbi Segal.
“The new Vaad is definitely a community effort, and this is a very positive change,” Pack said.
“We’ve had this continued support from the synagogues and members of the community and I think that reinforces the message that this is a community project and a community effort,” she continued.
Rabbi Rockoff is also happy the community has taken an interest in the Vaad.
“A successful Vaad is one of the hallmarks of a vibrant Jewish community. It serves as the kosher resource for residents of Kansas City as well as visitors who pass through while traveling. We are fortunate that our community has devoted itself to ensuring the success and continued growth of our Vaad for many years to come,” he said.
Besides increasing the involvement from the community at large, which Pack believes has succeeded, the board also wanted financial support from the Jewish community’s major funders. That’s been realized as well.
“They understand the value of having an organization that certified kosher food in the community. They respect it and they value it,” she said.
The kosher industry itself is booming. It is believed there are more than 12 million kosher consumers in the United States. There are more than 10,000 companies producing kosher certified products and more than 125,000 kosher certified products.
Locally, the Vaad oversees and certifies close to 40 different types of food service suppliers, manufacturers and providers.
Those vendors are being supervised by a director, Pack said, who is both well qualified and well liked. The fact that he is also a business person has been a plus for the Vaad.
“Mendel knows how to work with clients, how to work with new accounts while at the same time strengthening the relationships with previous customers and bringing in new customers,” said Pack of Rabbi Segal, who has been on the job about four months.
Since Rabbi Segal joined the Vaad, two new producers have come on board — Bernice’s Bakery and Strawberry Hill Povitica Company.
“We have others in the pipeline,” Rabbi Segal said.
Rabbi Segal said he has been working hard to strengthen the Vaad’s relationship with its current vendors.
“I’ve met with most of the vendors now re-establishing our relationship and making sure we’re happy with each other,” he said.
Recently consumers have been able to find more kosher goods at retailers such as Costco and at Trader Joe’s. Rabbi Segal said the Vaad hasn’t really been a part of getting more goods at these retailers, but said he would like to get more involved in that “and be able to help them and guide them.”
“I have suggested to Trader Joe’s that they get certain products in that I know they have in other cities,” he said.
Already Rabbi Segal has begun conducting training sessions with the Vaad’s mashgichim (currently there are three) and has increased the Vaad’s presence in social media, such as its website (vaadkc.org) as well as twitter (@vaadkc.) and facebook (Vaad HaKashruth Overland Park, Kansas).
“We’ve put on our website the types of kosher symbols that are reliable in general. More specifically, Trader Joe’s has a lot of products from all over the world and we’ve compiled a list of certification symbols for products Trader Joe’s carries that are reliable,” he said.
One of his goals is to make the website as contact rich and easy to use as possible.
“For example for a mother at HBHA who is not familiar with kosher but has to have a kosher birthday party, she can look at the site to find out where she can get everything she needs for that kosher birthday party. The website is tailored to our community,” he said.
Pack said going forward the Vaad wants to continue to increase its presence in the Jewish community and in the commercial food community. As it builds on its lists of commercial accounts, board members hope that increases its coffers so that the costs to agencies and individuals wanting to use the Vaad for kosher supervision will decrease.
In addition, Pack and Rabbi Segal said they hope the Vaad’s staff will grow so it can reach out farther into Missouri and Kansas, not only through its services but through educational programming.
Besides providing kosher food options at retailers, one of Pack’s dreams is to eventually get a kosher restaurant here that will appeal to both the Jewish and general community.
By strengthening the Vaad, Pack and other community leaders hope that more young Jews will be attracted to this area.
“Kansas City is being showcased as a community that provides a positive Jewish experience for families and is also affordable,” she said.
“As our kosher services expand it makes it that much more possible that these individuals will look to Kansas City as a place they want to move and raise a family,” she said.
Pack has already seen how the Vaad has been able to reach out to the community over the past few months, overseeing two events at Oakwood Country Club, where kosher events hadn’t been held in quite a while.
“Oakwood hosted a lovely kosher wedding and also served kosher desserts for the Federation’s annual meeting. It shows that whether it’s the private sector or the agency sector, the Vaad is becoming very involved in the community.”