▪

▪

•

its members becoming involved
in two vital, still-thriving local
agencies.
"Dr. Nancy Fishman was wor-
ried about food wasted at shivah
homes:' Rabbi Yedwab said. "She
was bound and determined to
start a group for this. And that's
where [the Southfield-based]
Forgotten Harvest began."
At the same time, other Mazon
members had a different sort
of community organization in
mind.
"I kept thinking we needed a
group that helped local Jewish
people said Rabbi Schnipper.
He
responded
by devoting
time and
energy to
the newly
formed
Yad Ezra,
Michigan's
only kosher
food pantry.
"Mazon
has a very
powerful
Rabbi Schnipper
history, but
all of this
happened
in a very short amount of time
Rabbi Yedwab said. "Soon, most
everyone on our Mazon council
was on the board -of one of the
other groups. We had done our
job and had mainstreamed"

Revival Time
Today, the Mazon Council of
Metropolitan Detroit is being
revitalized and is inviting local
youth to join in.
"We decided to invigo-
rate the council,-mostly
because of the involve-
ment of [West Bloomfield
hunger activist] Joel Jacob,
who is spearheading it:'
Rabbi Yedwab said. "For
a while, things may have
gotten mainstreamed
– but not forgotten – and
now Joel was pushing
Rabbi Berkun and me to
get back on the job."
Already involved in hun-
Joel
ger issues through long-

- time involvement with
Yad Ezra, Jacob began his
work with Mazon four
years ago at the urging of
national board member
and community activist
Barbara Levin of Detroit,
wife of U.S. Sen. Carl
Levin, D-Mich.
"There is a renewed
commitment by our
rabbis to learn about
the issue. and get their
congregations involver
Jacob said. "The newer
rabbis became involved with
Mazon in rabbinical school, and
this is a growing of that
seed."
Rabbi Berkun said,
"Many JTS [New York
based Conservative
Jewish Theological
Seminary] functions had
a Mazon component,
and students and faculty
would be encouraged
to make a contribution
along with the RSVP for
the event."
According to Jacob,
"The biggest new thing
being done with the
council is the rabbis
reaching out to bar and bat
mitzvah kids and their families
to discuss the opportunity of the
3-percent solution."
Jacob has been instrumental
in making connections – some
new, some renewed – between
.Mazon and Yad Ezra, Gleaners
Community Food Bank of
Southeast Michigan, Forgotten
Harvest and Food Bank Council.
of Michigan in Lansing. All now
receive
grant
money
from
Mazon.
Food -
Gatherers
in Ann
Arbor
is work-
ing on
its grant
applica-
tion.
Jacob
"So

when you
give to
Mazon, it
goes back
to Yad
Ezra and
Gleaners
and oth-
ers in the
Detroit
commu-
nity," said
Dr. H. Eric
Schockman,
Mazon's

national president.
Currently, the only community
Mazon council is the Detroit
group.
As a member of the national
Mazon advis. ory committee,
Rabbi Yedwab is working to steer
others to replicate it.

Beyond Distribution
In addition to providing food,
Mazon's shared purpose is to
address the systemic causes of
hunger and poverty, both domes-
tically and globally.
And that involves big-time
advocacy. In that light, grant
distribution is only part of the
affiliation between
agencies and Mazon,
the other being pro-
motion of the aware-
ness of the problem
and working toward
a solution.
The problem,
Schockman said,
isn't that there isn't
enough food. "It's
not a supply issue,
it's a distribution
Lea Luger
issue he said.
And that's why a
bulk of his energy goes toward
public policy work.
"When Joel Jacob introduced
Eric [Schockman] to Yad Ezra a
year ago, Eric said our work in
helping interfaith groups learn
how to operate their own food
pantries was not enough in the
way of advocacy:' said Lea Luger,
Yad Ezra's development director.
Mazon encourages food agen-
cies to go beyond distribution
and become involved in the

larger picture of anti-hunger
work through education and
advocating for public policies
beyond those that result in dona-
tions of food.
"He wanted to introduce us to
political advocacy," Luger said.
So Jacob invited her and Yad
Ezra President Paul Finkel to
join him and Schockman at last
spring's Mazon co-sponsored
National Hunger Awareness
Conference in Washington, D.C.
"Our purpose was to speak
about the struggles of our cli-
ents," Luger said.
The delegation also hoped
to influence the direction of a
bill presented to Congress that
included a reduction in food
stamps, used by many Yad.Ezra
clients.
Fresh from Washington, the
Yad Ezra board responded favor-
ably to Finkel's presentation for
a formal advocacy platform to
become a priority.
Last November, Jacob invited
Luger and Steve Freedman, Hillel
Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit's head of school, to join
an advocacy mission to Israel
organized by Mazon. They trav-
eled with U.S.
Undersecretary of
Agriculture Eric
Bost, who had -
previously made -
a visit to Yad Ezra
after meeting
Luger and Finkel
at the Washington
conference.
"He had already
been to Israel
offering ideas
on how the U.S.
addresses issues
of hunger:' Luger said. "This time
we traveled together, and I was
able to be the voice of the Jewish
nonprofit agency telling about
how we collaborate with Maion
and Jewish day schools."
Jacob explained, "In addition
to Yad Ezra, other area grantees
also are involved as advocates,
acting as Mazon advisers. And
Forgotten Harvest and Gleaners
volunteered to help establish the
first food bank in Israel."

iN

Targeting Youth
The search for the perfect way
to include local youth in Mazon
i s on.
While Rabbi Yedwab doesn't
push the idea of candle-lighting
ceremonies at b'nai mitzvah cele-
brations, he said, "If they're going
to do it anyway, let's include
Mazon. The kids already light a
candle of friendship or family or
remembrance, let's make Mazon
the first candle — one they are
expected to light to remind their
guests there is an organization
to support
that helps
the world's
hungry."
And
bringing
party ven-
dors into
the mix can
only help.
"We want
caterers
and DJs
Steve Freedman
and party
planners to
get on board-in addition to rab-
bis and the congregation:' Rabbi
Yedwab said. "So far, they've been
very receptive in wanting to help
deepen the party experience'
Jacob added, "We want them to
be involved in this 'First Candle
campaign' and we want Mazon to
be right there when event plan-
ners suggest how many dancers
or party favors families might
want."
Star Trax Events in Southfield
has already offered to be part of
the strategy of getting families
involved. "They are talking about
creating a Mazon symbol to be
included at their parties: like a
snow cone machine or special
straws with the Mazon logo, so
guests know it's a Mazon party,"
Jacob said. "They also offered to
help educate the guests about
Mazon."
To help teach about Mazon; •
Rabbi Yedwab has scripted a
short film being developed for
b'nai mitzvah kids.
"We are still looking for the

Hungry on page 32

April 6 • 2006

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