20 | FEBRUARY 18 • 2021 

T

emple Kol Ami in West 
Bloomfield has been 
running a food pantry 
as a result of the COVID-19 
pandemic since early July, and 
even with a new year and vac-
cines being rolled out, the num-
ber of families taking advantage 
of the pantry doesn’t seem to be 
slowing down.
It started small with just a 
few families, growing steadily. 
At this point, it has grown to 
feed more than 90 families a 
week, reflective of the growing 
local need. The pantry works in 
partnership with Hazon, which 
collects the food each week.
Originally intended to last 
two to three months as a pop-
up pantry, TKA is now schedul-
ing two months ahead, knowing 
the need isn’t going away any-
time soon. 
The pantry is held every 
Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 
p.m. A lot of the food the pan-
try gets from Hazon is food res-
cue — short-dated items at the 
grocery store that didn’t sell. 
The pantry is currently 

drive-thru with times slotted 
out in 30-minute windows so 
there’s no backup of traffic. A 
crew of at least 18 volunteers a 
week help so people don’t have 
to leave their cars. The pantry 
is looking for more volunteers 
as well. 
The TKA pantry’s rise takes 
place while Temple Israel’s food 
pantry, which operates biweek-
ly, had to cancel from January 
until mid-February because 
of a scheduling issue with its 
supplier. 
“We really want to make sure 
that we feed those who need 
food and that no one goes hun-
gry in our community,
” TKA 
Rebbetzin Jill Gutmann said. 
Gutmann was the weekly 
pantry coordinator at the begin-
ning of the operations, but as 
time went on and the pantry 
grew, TKA member Deb Ford 
took over.
According to Gutmann, 
many of the families taking 
advantage of the pantry are 
actually middle-class families 
who have lost jobs and income 

because of the pandemic, but 
don’t necessarily qualify for gov-
ernment help. 
Lee Schottenfels, who is 
on the TKA board, has also 
been instrumental in running 
the pantry since the start. 
Schottenfels created an informa-
tion flyer for TKA
’s pantry that 
was added to the bags of Temple 
Israel’s Food Pantry recipients, 
which increased traffic to the 
pantry as did the growing word-
of-mouth attention.

HELP FOR ‘NEIGHBORS’
Most of the “neighbors,” as 
TKA calls the pantry-goers, 
get three bags of food: one 
perishable, one non-perishable 

and one with protein. 
Ford runs the website, takes 
and receives phone calls from 
neighbors and greets every 
one of them each week per-
son-by-person. 
Ford believes running the 
food pantry is by far the most 
meaningful thing she’s ever 
done in her life. 
“People are in tears and so 
grateful,
” Ford said. “They 
take pictures of the food they 
make with what we give them, 
and they send them to us. 
They’re so grateful to be treated 
like humans, like a neighbor. 
They’re not just a number 
in a line. We value them for 
who they are, and that’s really 
important.
” 
Those interested can go on 
the website signup.com/client/
invitation2/secure/118703491
9360152029/false#/invitation 
and pick a day, time and how 
many family members they’re 
feeding. Once online spots for 
a day fill up, Ford encourages 
people to call or just arrive at 
the pantry, as no one will be 
turned away.
Ford said it appears the pan-
try is going to be a part of TKA
’s 
congregation indefinitely or for 
as long as Hazon can provide 
them with food. 

Temple Kol Ami pantry feeds
90 families every week.
Food for All

“We really want to make sure 

food and that no one goes hun-

pantry coordinator at the begin-

perishable, one non-perishable 
them with food. 

“PEOPLE ARE IN 
TEARS AND SO 
GRATEFUL.” 

— TEMPLE KOL AMI’S DEB FORD

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TKA

OUR COMMUNITY

Volunteers keep 
busy at Temple 
Kol Ami’s Food 
Pantry.

Lee Schottenfels 
works to distribute 
turkeys to those 
who need them.

