From Our CEO
Food for Thought This Thanksgiving
November 25th, 2015

For years, we had the curious tradition of traveling to Toronto to be with my in-laws on Thanksgiving. The curious part? In Canada, they celebrate Thanksgiving in October. But in deference to her Yankee son-in-law, my mother-in-law always prepared a turkey.

This year, we’re staying home, with many family members joining us in New York. And with the world so unsettled — and too many families coping with empty seats at the table — it feels especially meaningful to be surrounded by lots of loved ones this Thanksgiving.

Aside from family and gratitude, there’s one other major component of Thanksgiving —food, of course. But for far too many there’s a real struggle to put food on the table, and not just on Thanksgiving. The scourge of hunger is among the most pernicious challenges in the world — including in our own backyard. One of the shocking findings of UJA-Federation’s most recent Jewish Community Study of New York was that nearly one-third of all people in Jewish households in our community live at or near the poverty line.

This year, UJA is more focused than ever on addressing the issue of hunger.

Of the $28 million UJA provides annually for local human service organizations and safety net services, more than 30 percent goes directly to alleviating hunger and providing services aimed at reducing the crushing effect of poverty. Overseas agencies receive millions more to support their efforts in this area. The local impact: some 220,000 low-income New Yorkers are getting help putting food on the table. The global impact: we’re helping hundreds of thousands more in the former Soviet Union and Israel.

We’re also investing in new innovative approaches, including:

    • creating food pantries across New York that more closely resemble a supermarket experience, and encourage clients to choose a well-balanced bag of groceries;
    • providing access to nutritionists for low-income seniors in Washington Heights, so the food they eat meets individual dietary requirements;
    • building affordable food co-ops in poor periphery communities throughout Israel.

Each of these approaches places real emphasis on maintaining dignity, and — where possible — leading people to self-sufficiency.

Food for thought this Thanksgiving. And yet another reason to be grateful for all we have and all we enable.

Best wishes to everyone for a joyful holiday filled with family and friends.