Lisa and Richard Rouder sort food gathered in the Supermarket Sweep Foodraiser along with their children, Zoe, in front, Molly, behind her, and Sam, together with Alyssa Bloomberg.
Photos by Elaine Durbach
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JFS president David Brooks shows off one of the prizes offered to Foodraiser participants, together with event chairs, from left, Elyse Deutsch, Janice Weinberg, and Lisa Israel.
March 26, 2009
As a smiling horde of adults and children sorted out bags, boxes, and stacks of food on Sunday afternoon, perhaps the brightest smiled belonged to David Brooks, the president of the Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey.
He was heartened by those who came to JFS headquarters in Elizabeth for its Supermarket Sweep Foodraiser and to stock its hard-pressed kosher food pantry.
“It’s wonderful the way people have responded,” he said, gesturing to the dozens of families who had just taken part in the food collection. “And the best part is to see all the children involved.”
Well aware that this bounty will quickly be consumed, he reminded the crowd to work their contacts with companies and corporations to bring in the donations and grants the agency needs so badly.
The Foodraiser, organized by the social action committee of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, drew 62 teams with more than 300 people to the ShopRite in Clark earlier in the afternoon for a shopping spree dedicated to JFS’ hard-pressed kosher food pantry. The participants filled a fleet of minivans and their own cars with yellow bags of items requested by the pantry — a total of $5,445.75 worth of food. The supermarket, they said, was gracious and accommodating with the crowd that filled their aisles.
The organizers, Elyse Deutsch, Janice Weinberg, and Lisa Israel, were beaming as they worked alongside federation and JFS staff members and the army of volunteers of all ages, sorting all the cans and boxes and bottles. They said it had turned out way better than they hoped.
Added to their harvest was also a big delivery of food gathered by the members of area congregations and a presentation of money and pasta collected by United Synagogue Youth members at Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim in Cranford. Rabbi Akiba Lubow made the delivery with his wife, Rahel, and son, Micah.
Lubow related how the teens, as a tikun olam project, bought boxes of pasta to use as noisemakers for the temple’s Purim festivities, and then sold them to congregants to raise a handsome $200 profit, which they were giving to JFS. The unsold “graggers” were donated to the food pantry, along with the money.
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