Helping people of all backgrounds meet unexpected financial and emotional needs has been a focus of Jewish Family Services since our founding more than a century ago. JFS provides emergency assistance, employment services, older adult services, counseling, mental health services, chaplaincy and spiritual care.
As the community needs have increased, the pantry needs have steadily grown. The Kansas pantry, located at the Jewish Community Campus, opened in 2012 to help fight growing food insecurity in the metro area; the JFS Missouri office had a small pantry, as well.
Since 2012, demand for food assistance has grown to the point the pantry now provides more than 290 families with 17,000 pounds of food each month.
Hunger knows no boundaries. As many as 24% of households with children in Jackson County qualify as “food insecure,” meaning they don’t know where tomorrow’s meal is coming from.
The JFS Food Pantry is one of few in the area that offers home delivery and pet food so families in need can properly care for their pets.
Kansas Food Pantry
The Kansas pantry, located on the lower level of the Campus, recently moved across the hall from its original location. The move gives the pantry an additional 100 square feet of space. The Jewish Community Center wanted to expand its fitness facilities for Crossfit training and JFS got a bigger, more efficient space in exchange. The space re-arrangement is a win-win for both agencies.
With additional shelving, the store is better able to display the beautiful produce donated from Liberty Fruit and Whole Foods.
In 2015, Arnold and Carol Caviar made an endowment gift to support the JFS pantry. To mark this recent move, there has been a new sign added. The Caviar Family has been a loyal supporter of the food pantry and Arnold Caviar is a past JFS board member.
“JFS does so many different things whether it’s mental health services, counseling, helping older adults and people of every age,” Caviar said. “I like the way the organization operates helping people from all walks of life whether they are Jewish or not. Endowing the pantry seemed like a natural for us.”
The Kansas pantry also offers VAAD-supervised kosher and non-kosher food, with staples such as grains, dairy, protein, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Missouri Food Pantry
JFS recently moved its Missouri office to a newly renovated space in the Brookside East area. The move to 425 E. 63rd St. allowed for the expansion of the pantry in Missouri as well.
Personal care and household items are available to clients. These are items not covered by SNAP (food stamps).
Because of collaborative efforts and working with companies such as Whole Foods and Starbucks, the Food Pantry has been able to meet its goals.
Donations large and small are gratefully accepted for both pantries and can be dropped off at either JFS location.
JFS encourages businesses and organizations to run their own food drive to benefit the pantries.
For more information on food drives, please contact Jo Hickey at (913) 327-8257 or email her at jhickey@jfskc.org.
Volunteers are always needed to help. We can’t do it without you! Our sponsors, together with our team of volunteers, touch the lives of over 6,000 people in our community; and now they have the opportunity to help in either of our two pantries. To volunteer, please email volunteer@jfskc.org or call (913)-730-1410.
