Congregation Beth Emeth in Wilmington started its own food pantry earlier this month.
After years of coordinating with the Food Bank of Delaware and Jewish Family Services to distribute food donations, Congregation Beth Emeth decided to take its food pantry in-house.
“First of all it allows us to serve our neighborhood and really be of the neighborhood,” said Congregation Beth Emeth Rabbi Yair Robinson. “It allows our congregants to see who we are helping. Before, we were collecting tons of food, especially at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but there wasn’t that personal connection.”
Joseph’s Pantry is open Tuesday evenings. Robinson says roughly 15 families have come to collect three-day emergency food supplies each week since it opened.
“They’re greeted warmly, they have the opportunity to use our wifi, to have a place where kids can do their homework, or color,” said Robinson.
For the time being, the pantry does not have an income cap.
“You can hit that threshold and still be profoundly poor, profoundly in need of support,” said Robinson. “So we’re trying to serve those individuals as well at the moment.”
The pantry stocks shelf-stable, non-refrigerated foods as well as personal items and cleaning products. Robinson says it is currently seeking donations of shelf-stable proteins.
Joseph’s Pantry is aiming to become an approved Food Bank of Delaware partner this summer. Robinson says this would mean access to federal support.
