A Little Post About Hunger in Austin ... and Everywhere Else ...

From my e-mail to the congregation sent last night for the first night of Chanukah ...    : )


Consider This on the First Night of Chanukah ...

There is an old Jewish joke that says all Jewish holidays can be summed up by saying the following: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” Chanukah certainly fits this bill.

But what if you can’t afford to buy food?

Just today at the Chanukah Luncheon for Seniors at the JCAA, a representative from Jewish Family Services told me that they were surprised by the people asking for assistance with food this year: middle class families. In these uncertain economic times, more families are being hit even harder than ever with the effects of unemployment, underemployment, and costly medical expenses. This is especially true in Austin, where more than 20% of our residents are designated as the “working poor.”

Usually, we think of those who are on fixed incomes due to age or illness when we think of those in need, but this year we must also think about those who had not needed help before, like the middle class families the JFS representative told me about. Unfortunately, the “safety nets” in place to help care for these individuals are overwhelmed right now.

As we sit down to celebrate Chanukah, filling our stomachs with lovingly-prepared latkes, yummy deep-fried sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts), in addition to all the trimmings, please remember those who are hungry and those who are called “food insecure” (people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from) and consider making a donation to one of these fine organizations:

• Donate to the Capital Area Food Bank to help those in need … you can participate in CBI’s “virtual year round food drive” by going to http://www.bethisrael.org/ and clicking on the “Virtual Year Round Food Drive” tab on the lower left side.
• Donate to “Mazon: The Jewish Response to Hunger,” by going to http://www.mazon.org/. This Jewish organization fights hunger in the US, in Israel, and all over the world.

Please note that 1 pound of food donated equals 0.8 meals, while $1.00 donated can feed 5 people a meal.

More importantly, though, at this season when most of us have been blessed to have plenty more than we need, please consider bringing a little light to those in need of one of the most basic things … and, remember, every little bit helps! : )

- Rabbi Cookie Lea Olshein      : )

PS … Both Mazon and CAPB have cool functions on their websites where you can donate as little as $5.00 per month automatically (just look for the words “sustaining donation” on both websites)!

For less than the cost of one meal out for you, you can feed 25 people a meal, each month, without even thinking about it … imagine how many people we could feed if even 1/20th of CBI’s membership gave just $5.00 a month?!?!

(Okay, here’s the answer … we have more than 600 families … so 1/20th represents just 30 families … times $5.00 per month equals just $150 a month … times 5 people fed a meal per dollar … so that COULD equal 750 people fed a meal this month by CBI’ers alone! Just imagine!)