Share your good fortune with a local food pantry

Although many of us enjoy the period between Thanksgiving and the New Year as one of feasting and celebration, it’s also a time when some members of our community struggle to feed themselves and make ends meet. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that in Rhode Island, more than 54,000 households, representing more than 12 percent of the state’s population, experience food insecurity – the inability to meet the food needs of all members of their household; two thirds of those households contain at least one senior or child. 

Hugh Minor, director of communications at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, said that last year the Food Bank and its 168 member agencies distributed more than 11.6 million pounds of food to Rhode Islanders in need. It is a persistent need, and Minor provided a list of this year’s most-needed items, which includes canned foods such as tuna and soups and non-perishable, shelf-stable items such as pasta, whole-grain foods and cooking oil. At member agency The Louis & Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry, items such as borscht, gefilte fish, and kasha are in high demand; Pantry Coordinator Marcie Ingber explained that this need comes from the sizable Russian constituency that uses the pantry.

Both Minor and Ingber spoke of a need for donations. While donations of food are always welcome, Minor explained that the Food Bank’s ability to buy in bulk makes monetary donations particularly valuable. Volunteers are also welcome, and Ingber mentioned that the Kosher Food Pantry volunteers often include those working on B’nai Mitzvah projects. 

A list of local food pantries can be found online at https://rifoodbank.org/find-food/ , or by calling The United Way of Rhode Island at 2-1-1.

The Louis & Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry is open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., or by appointment. The phone number is 401-621-5374.

MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE (mschemaille@jewishallianceri.org) writes for Jewish Rhode Island and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.