From the Desk of CEO Judy Halper: July 2017

Has there ever been a time when we have been more focused on food than we are right now? Everywhere we look it seems we are exposed to new foods, new programs, magazines and social media sites promoting food, new places to buy food, and so on and so on! Yet, for many of our friends, neighbors and loved ones, scarcity and a lack of quality, healthy food is still an issue. In fact, it is a growing one.

 

Summertime has always been a uniquely difficult time for financially struggling families. With school out, it just seems that kids are hungrier, and without free and reduced meal programs at school during the academic year, parents must manage to put at least three meals together for hungry children daily. Even in two-income-earning households, it is not unusual for monthly budgets to go haywire in June, July and August, while families re-balance to ensure enough is allocated for basics like milk, eggs, bread, and precious produce.

 

We can’t close our eyes to the reality that quality is of greater importance than quantity when it comes to eating. We all need to be sure that we are eating better, not just eating more. It stands to reason that stomachs will stay fuller longer and our chances for better health improve when we pay attention to how much good, wholesome food we put into our bodies.

 

While enjoying all that summer has to offer, including eating fresh food from gardens and markets, and delicious treats like ice cream and popsicles, we hope you’ll also do what you can to help others who need some basic assistance at this time of year. Our partner, PRISM food shelf, welcomes your contributions of food or financial support to help stock its shelves and keep families from going hungry this summer.

 

You can also support hunger relief programming at JFCS, including our Meals on Wheels program, which meets the needs of low-income older adults; our emergency food assistance program, which serves people in temporary or insecure housing situations; and our holiday Hag Sameach program, which provides culturally-specific food for Jewish holiday observance.

 

There are so many delicious ways to enjoy this time of the year, and so many easy ways we can help others to enjoy it too!