Hillel’s social action special interest group, Tzedek, took a step this weekend to aid the needy in conjunction with their annual celebration of Purim.
The project, which assembled packages of food for distribution to the elderly poor, was spearheaded by freshmen Emily Blonder and Jennifer Weinstein. Blonder and Weinstein have been involved with the group since they came to the University of Massachusetts this past fall.
“I had done community service in high school,” Weinstein said. “I like doing it; I like helping out. It’s a good Jewish value.”
The two led a group yesterday in assembling the packages, which included cans of corn, peanut butter, Ultra High Temperature-treated (UHT) milk, apple sauce, and other goods. Within the next couple of days, the bags will be brought to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Hatfield, Mass.
In Hatfield the food will be used in what the Food Bank calls its Brown Bag program. The program brings monthly bags of food to senior citizens in many of the communities of Western Massachusetts. In this case, Hillel has assembled many of the brown bags that will be used for the elderly community in Holyoke, so the food that would normally be going to that area can be diverted to help other causes including Brown Bag programs for other towns and various shelters in the area.
According to Devon Fitzig, who serves as the faculty supervisor of Tzedek, the list of food that Hillel needed and used in their packages was compiled under specific instruction of the Food Bank. She also said that the Food Bank is non-denominational and that Hillel’s responsibility for this project has no affect on who receives the food.
Fitzig said that the Bread and Circus and Stop and Shop supermarkets, both in Hadley, made this project possible by acting charitably.
“They were wonderful,” she said.
Bread and Circus donated 64 jars of jelly, several boxes of the UHT milk and all of the paper bags. Stop and Shop did its part by issuing a gift certificate that Tzedek used to purchase additional food products for the packages. Fitzig estimated 10 to 15 percent of the material contributions for the project came from students.
“Most of it we bought ourselves,” she said.
The money for the purchase of food not donated came from a Hillel fund specifically marked for use in Tzedek projects. A large amount of this fund was used on this project, Fitzig said.
Commending Blonder’s and Weinstein’s efforts on this project, she commented that they “really helped organize this and they did a great job.”
The idea for this project surfaced last semester at one of Tzedek’s regular meetings. Also discussed at the meetings were many other plans on which Tzedek now works, including a Meals on Wheels project.
Jillian Marcus, a student at the University who coordinates the group and is in charge of this project, said that Meals on Wheels combines efforts with people at the Newman Center who are also interested in community service. The Newman Center has been doing the project for the entire year, but Hillel recently joined forces with them at the beginning of the semester, Marcus said.
Every two weeks, students at the Newman Center and students at Hillel come together to prepare meals for residents of the Ann Whalen house in downtown Amherst. Marcus said that their project borrows the name from the true Meals on Wheels organization, which delivers meals to the house during only the weekdays. This project brings in food on the weekends as well.
Marcus said that inter-faith initiatives are important in community service because although she feels social justice is a central value in Judaism, she recognizes the importance it has to other groups as well. She said that through coordinating efforts, it is possible to build bonds with other groups on campus, something she feels is vital for Hillel.
Over 60 bags of food were prepared in last weekend’s effort. By 2:30 p.m. yesterday, the bags were loaded into a van, and the task was completed. The Food Bank will receive the bags today.
