Adath Israel Congregation’s Project Isaiah Food Drive vastly exceeds last year’s collection

Before Kol Nidre on Friday September 13, Adath Israel teenagers collected brown bags full of food for their annual Project Isaiah Food Drive. The empty food bags were passed out to congregants on the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah. Congregants were asked to fill them with non-perishable food items and bring them back to the synagogue before the start of the Kol Nidre service on Yom Kippur.

All of the food from this drive was donated to the West End Emergency Center. This center feeds roughly 325 people a month at no cost and will not turn away anyone in need. With Adath Israel’s help, the center will have food on their shelves at least until the end of the year.

Mary Walton, of the West End Emergency Center told Adath Israel, “Our shelves were empty and you filled our pantry, and now we can meet a lot more families’ demands and are able offer them a wide variety of food choices”.

Donations were much higher this year. Adath Israel congregants donated so many bags that the U-haul that came to pick them up was not big enough. The center had to call in four other vans/trucks, which they filled. Next year, The West End Emergency Center will bring a bigger U-haul!