My Bat Mitzvah project was inspired by my love for food and cooking, and also the need for food, because 37.8 million people are currently suffering from food insecurity in the U.S. alone. I wanted to try and have an impact on lowering this number, but also to make sure people are fed and happy as food is something that everyone needs. To do that, I volunteered at the SF-Marin Food Bank and Hamotzi at Congregation Sherith Israel. Read more below about the two programs that I volunteered at, and the impact they are making for people in the Bay Area.
Hamotzi
Mission
Hamotzi's mission is to feed people in need of food. They deliver to two shelters, Compass Family Services and Women's Place. This program started during the High Holy Days in 1993. Since then they have served over 150,000 meals to shelters in San Francisco. They also have another program inside of Hamotzi for families called Chesed. Chesed is targeted for people who would benefit from having a home-cooked meal delivered to them, maybe because they have just had a baby or can't cook for themselves for other reasons.
My Experience
Whenever I volunteer at Hamotzi, my experience is really good, because it is full of nice and caring people. When I volunteer, I usually help with prep work, including chopping veggies, making sandwiches, and cutting bread. I also help pack up the food and clean after everything is done. It is a very good environment and you can always step away and take a break if you need to do so. My personal favorite thing to do is cutting veggies because you can get an arm workout and also talk to people and get to know them as you work alongside each other. You have to wear a hair net or a baseball cap to keep your hair out of the food and wear gloves when handling food. Volunteer shifts start around 9:00am and ends around 12:30pm on Sundays.
SF-Marin Food Bank
Mission
The SF Marin FoodBank's mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin.
"Before the pandemic, one in five neighbors was at risk of hunger. Now, we know the need is even greater. We address hunger head-on - from our food pantry network and home-delivered groceries to CalFresh (food stamp) enrollment. Every week, over 53,000 households count on us for food assistance. 60% of what we distribute to them is fresh fruit and vegetables."
My Experience
My experience with the Food Bank is always filled with fun, music, and of course, food. There usually are some '80s or '90s tunes playing as you pack boxes with cans, milk, cereal, meat, and many other things. The way they make it most efficient is they have it in an assembly line style. You get assigned to a job or you can pick it. It could either be putting in some canned fruit, vegetables, meat, or milk, powdered milk, or cereal. There are many more jobs other than handling the canned and pre-packaged goods as well. The completed boxes are delivered to elders across San Francisco and Marin. The staff that support the volunteers always remind you that every box made is given to one person. So if you made 600 boxes, you would have given food to 600 people, specifically older people. I usually volunteer at least once a month, and usually experience the same thing. But, there was one time that we worked with frozen chicken donated by Chick Fil A. I recommend bringing your own gloves. They do have disposable gloves there, but it is better to bring your own so you don't waste gloves. At the end of the shift, which is around 2-3 hours (it goes by fast), the manager of the shift tells you the numbers of boxes you packed, the total weight of all of the boxes packed, and then they lead you out of the warehouse with Star Wars music, or other music. This is also a great opportunity to get volunteer hours for school.
Get Involved
Mia will be holding a food drive at CSI leading up to her Bat Mitzvah. If you would like to donate food, please drop your contribution off in the SF-Marin Food Bank donation barrel located in the lobby of the synagogue. SFMFB accepts food that is in its original packaging, unopened and not expired. Examples are: canned protein, non-meat protein (e.g., peanut butter), healthy snacks, shelf-stable fruit cups, and pop-top cans (e.g., soups and entrees).