Jerusalem Food Bank
גמ"ח תפילה למשה – ירושלים (ע"ר)
Historical Background
The Jerusalem Food Bank charity was founded in 1991 by Rachel Schatz with the help of 6 volunteers under the name of "Gmach Tefila Le’Moshe". The purpose of the charity was to assist needy families in Jerusalem by providing them with frozen chickens and staple food items that would have otherwise been prohibitively expensive for them to obtain.
The food bank is a 100% volunteer-run organization. It relies solely on donations to fund its work, with zero overhead expenses; no salaries, offices, or vehicle expenses, taken by any of the staff or volunteers who help. As a result, 100% of funds donated go directly to helping poor people get the most basic of necessities: food.
At its height, the food bank was operated by 30 women volunteers. With time this number dwindled as people got older, and the help of new volunteers is greatly needed to maintain operations. It is Rachels's vision to take the knowledge she has gained and impart it to a younger generation so they can set up their own distribution networks in their communities.
The charity operates and collects donations as a registered institution issuing receipts in accordance with section 46 of the Israeli Tax Code.
Families Supported
The families we help are needy families who face severe emotional, mental, and physical problems. We work with single-parent families, widows and orphans, and families where one of the parents is not functioning emotionally, mentally, or physically. Families with many children living in small, crowded apartments.
The families are carefully checked and asked to fill out a registration form with accompanying income slips, medical certificates, and a certificate from a social worker. Every application is checked by the committee of the charity.
One of the guiding principles of charity is that no child should be held back or suffer due to the inability of the parents to provide food for the table.
Support Provided
Every month we distribute food staples to 150 families consisting of about 1,580 frozen chickens in the following neighborhoods:
- 810 frozen chickens in Givat Shaul.
- 110 frozen chickens in Ramat Shlomo.
- 290 frozen chickens in Bucharim.
- 290 frozen chickens in Beitar.
- 80 frozen chickens in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
We operate 5 distribution centers - Women volunteers donate their time and their homes to distribute the food and poultry from inside their homes discreetly to the poor.
The day before the distribution, volunteers call the families and inform them of the distribution times.
Volunteers also deliver frozen chicken and food staples to the homes of the families of those who are physically incapable of picking them up themselves.
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Funding
To finance our work, we need about NIS 34,000 every month. This money is usually collected by our women volunteers, who devote precious time and a lot of energy, going from house to house collecting donations. Every month, we have a difficult time collecting the necessary amount because the response to donating is very small.
The donations we collect go 100% to the purchase of the food. We are not supported by any government agency and rely solely on donations.
We are interested in raising donations in a larger amount so that we can include additional families who are waiting to receive our support.
Your donation will help us provide food and hope to needy families in Jerusalem. Please consider making a tax-deductable donation today.
Donate or Volunteer
If you want to donate or volunteer your time please fill out our contact form here or call us at the number below.
We greatly appreciate your support and thank you for your help and generous donations.
CORPORATE PERFORMANCE
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