Skip Navigation LinksHome > Volunteer/Get Involved > Mitzvah Food Project

Send a Mitzvah Food Pantry Tribute Card

Honor/Pay tribute to someone by sending them a Mitzvah Food Pantry Card. All proceeds go directly to the Mitzvah Food Project which ensures that people in need in Greater Philadelphia do not go hungry... Purchase one now
Mission
The mission of the Mitzvah Food Project is to provide food and basic staples in a caring and dignified manner to those in our community who are in need and to educate and advocate on their behalf.

The Mitzvah Food Project was piloted in 1996 to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among at-risk families in the Greater Philadelphia region and provides ongoing food relief to vulnerable households once or twice monthly, with emergency provisions available as needed. Over the 2006-2007 program year, the organization has successfully responded to increasing community need by expanding the Mitzvah Food Project’s food distribution by over 14%. As based on 2006-2007 year-end data, the Project provided emergency hunger relief and access to supportive services to 4,370 people in 2,153 unduplicated vulnerable households. The Mitzvah Food Project distributed 23,338 food packages in the 2006-2007 program year. This is more than 2,000 more food packages than the previous program year.

As a reliable source of basic, nutritious staples, the Mitzvah Food Project has enabled clients to use their resources for housing and health care costs, rather than food, helping them to avoid eviction and utility shut-off.

About the Mitzvah Food Project

The Mitzvah Project, coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, was formally launched in the spring of 1995. The goal of this program is to bring people together to perform mitzvot and provide opportunities to do gemilut hasadim through community projects. Most importantly, it exists to assist people in our community who are in need. Read more

Support the Mitzvah Food Project

You can make a difference

Though the Mitzvah Food Project is serving an increasing number of clients, there is still much more we must do to reduce food insecurity in our community. If you would like to make a donation to the Pantry or volunteer at one of our five Pantry sites, please contact Drisana Davis, Mitzvah Food Project Associate at 215-832-0531 or at ddavis@philafederation.org.  You can make your donation online by clicking on the link below - select "food pantry" from the pull down menu on the form: Make your donation now!

Join the Mitzvah Food Project’s Advocacy Net

Make your voice heard!

Your legislators in Harrisburg and Washington DC need to know that you are concerned about our nation’s hungry families and the policies that affect them.  Federation’s Mitzvah Food Project partners with the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger and Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center.  Join us and make your voice heard! more
"Our Rabbis said: If all the sufferings and pain in the world were gathered [on one side of the scale] and poverty was on the other side, poverty would outweigh them all."
Exodus Rabbah 31:12 and 31:14

Hunger Education Download

Please click on the link below to view our Hunger Education PDF for information about hunger in the US, Pennsylvania and about how you can get involved. (Download is 1 MB - 27 pages - please allow time for download)
If you are interested in receiving a free CD with this presentation and other hunger facts to present at your school, synagogue or other event, please contact Drisana Davis at ddavis@philafederation.org or 215-832-0531.
Download Now
Hunger on the Radio

Listen to the May 30, 2007 Radio Times broadcast (in Real Audio) on Hunger in the Delaware Valley. Guests are Karen Mariana Chilton, the principal investigator with the Philadelphia GROW Project, and Karen Wilson, director of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger...
Click here to listen now
Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon Sign up for our Email Newsletter
For Email Marketing you can trust

How to Get Involved!

There are two ways you can get involved with the Mitzvah Food Project:

1. Refer a client (a person or family in need). Click here for more information...
2. Volunteer at a pantry site. Click here for more information...

Mitzvah Food Project Pantry Locations and Contact Information:

Click here to view a Google Map of the Pantry locations

Beth Sholom Congregation
215-887-1342 x153 (Janet Levin)
8231 Old York Road, Elkins Park
DISTRIBUTION:
Deliveries only. Call for information.
DONATION DROP-OFF:
Call in advance. Monday - Friday, 8:30-2:00

JCCs Kevy K. & Hortense M. Kaiserman Branch
215-832-0531 (Drisana Davis)
45 Haverford Road, Wynnewood
DISTRIBUTION:
Deliveries only. Call for information.
DONATION DROP-OFF:
Mondays - Thursdays, 10:00-4:00

Congregation Tifereth Israel of Lower Bucks County
215-752-3468 (Sheila Weiss)
2909 Bristol Road, Bensalem
DISTRIBUTION:
Tuesdays, 4:00-5:30
DONATION DROP-OFF:
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 8:00-6:30;
Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays, 9:00-1:00

JCCs Jacob & Esther Stiffel Senior Center
215-468-3500
604 Porter Street, South Philadelphia
DISTRIBUTION:
1st or 2nd Thursday of every month, 1:00-3:00
DONATION DROP-OFF:
Mondays - Fridays, 9:30-4:30

JCCs Raymond & Miriam Klein Branch
215-698-7300 x197 or x198
10100 Jamison Avenue, Northeast Philadelphia
DISTRIBUTION:
Call in advance. Wednesdays, 2:30-4:00
DONATION DROP-OFF:
Mondays – Fridays, 9:00 – 3:00
Need more info?
To find out more about the Mitzvah Food Project, please contact Drisana Davis by phone at (215) 832-0531 or by email at ddavis@philafederation.org.