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Shir Ami collects over 15,000 pounds of food for hunger relief agencies

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Shir Ami Reform Synagogue of Newtown held a month-long food drive during in October and collected over 15,000 pounds of food and personal care items for eight local hunger relief agencies.

As more people throughout the region experience food insecurity due to rising prices and other factors, the food collection will help the agencies meet this growing need.

The synagogue collected nonperishable food items, personal care products and monetary donations. In addition, Shir Ami partnered with Newtown Middle School for its food collection “CANpout,” where students and parents gathered over 3,000 pounds of food to be donated to Shir Ami’s Food Bank.

Shir Ami Board Member and Food Insecurity Chairperson Marc Luber expressed his gratitude to the congregation and the community stating, “I am incredibly proud of our members, religious school families and our local community.

“Two hundred volunteers ranging in age from 6 to 86 years of age worked hard to shop, sort, label and transport over 15,000 pounds of donated food. That is a 50 percent increase over last year’s donations, at a time when those who are experiencing food insecurity need it the most.”

Warminster Food Bank picked up a portion of the 15,000 pounds of groceries on Monday, Oct. 31. “We are so grateful to the Shir Ami community for their regular and generous support,” said Mike Cerino, director, Warminster Food Bank. “They supported us when few others could during the pandemic, and now they have helped us again with critical supplies during a period of increasing demand due to rising food costs.”

October’s food collection is just one of Shir Ami’s many volunteer projects. The synagogue also collects food for the Jewish Relief Agency, a Philadelphia nonprofit organization that serves over 6,000 low-income individuals. It also has a monthly meal-making project for Caring for Friends, another Philadelphia nonprofit organization that provides meals to the homebound and homeless and serves as a food bank.

To learn more, visit shirami.org.


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