JCDSRI responds to government shutdown with a food drive

Due to the partial government shutdown, many military officers and airport workers were not paid throughout much of the month of January. They were finding it hard to feed their families, but they were still serving the country.

Our school, the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, set a goal of collecting 1,000 cans and other non-perishable food for the R.I. Community Food Bank to give out. We appreciated that government officials were still working and serving the country and we wanted to support them and show our appreciation.

I encourage you to do the same in your neighborhood!

The food insecurity that so many government workers faced, and that many others face, reminds me of parashah Miketz in the Torah. In this parashah, Yosef interprets Pharaoh’s dream to mean that there will be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh listens to Yosef and takes immediate action – he collects all the food they don’t need to save for the famine years. When other countries are also hit by the famine, their people go to Egypt, which becomes like a food bank.

I believe it is important for all of us at JCDSRI – and in our wider community – to collect food for those who need it. And it might make people feel more secure if they know that others support them and care about them.

I’ve learned from our school’s Code of Values (kindness, responsibility, respect and community) to help people – and a food drive is just one way to do so.

ARI YELLIN-LEVIN is a fifth-grade student at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, in Providence.