JULY 21 • 2022 | 19

HIGHER GAS PRICES
Yad Ezra delivers food to some 
clients — a service provided 
by volunteers on weekends. 
To date, volunteers have not 
expressed concern about fuel 
costs, according to Mechnikov. 
The agency pays JFS to deliver 
food to 300 families and indi-
viduals during the week. 
“Jewish Family Service 
spends a lot of money every 
year ensuring that people can 
get to where they need to go, 
through 30,000 or so rides. 
While we have adjusted our 
budget numbers, it’s fair to say 
that paying this much more 
for gas is not sustainable. 
Something’s got 
to give,” says Jim 
Janetzke, chief 
operating office 
at JFS.
JARC operates 
21 group homes 
for individuals 
with developmental disabili-
ties. “We have a van at every 
location, getting people not 
only where they need to go 
but where they want to go,” 
says Shaindle Braunstein, 
chief executive officer. JARC 
is planning car 
trips in advance 
to achieve more 
efficient routing 
and reduce gas 
usage. 
Gesher (for-
merly JVS + 
Kadima) is feeling the pinch. 
“We are constantly on the 
road, engaging people at work, 
at home and in the com-
munity so we can’t decrease 
the amount of transporta-
tion provided,” says Aubrey 
Macfarlane, executive vice 
president and chief operating 
officer. She adds that Gesher 
has 60 or 70 vans that trans-

port clients to work sites from 
Gesher/JVS locations. 
In addition, Gesher oper-
ates 22 group homes whose 
residents are transported by 
the agency. “We have had 
an increase in housing and 
food costs. There is a huge 
direct staff crisis. The state 
increased payment for these 
positions but hourly workers 
still struggle. 
We haven’t had 
a good reso-
lution to this,” 
Macfarlane says. 
During the 
height of the 
pandemic, JARC 
used food delivery services 
for its group homes. Now 
the agency makes bulk pur-
chases online, which helps 
to reduce expenses and food 

waste. With these savings as 
well as tracking grocery store 
prices and using coupons, 
Braunstein says that costs 
have stayed about the same.
Braunstein notes that insur-
ance rates are going up and 
that the agency has provided 
pay increases over the past 
two years to help recruit and 
retain hourly staff. JARC is 
offering some hourly workers 
three 12-hour shifts to help 
them reduce commuting costs 
with fewer workdays and 
assisting with gas cards and 
Uber rides. 
JARC’s Shulman Hardship 
Fund helps employees with 
special needs, which some-
times entails transportation 
assistance — gas and car 
repairs — as well as other 
items. 

In addition to providing 
weekend food delivery for 
Yad Ezra, volunteers help 
JARC and JFS with programs 
and other support for clients. 
Braunstein says that JARC is 
doing more programs online, 
which reduces the need for 
travel. According to both 
JARC and JFS, gas prices hav-
en’t had a major impact on 
their volunteers. 
The same 
is true for the 
National Council 
of Jewish Women 
(NCJW), which 
relies on volun-
teers to deliver 
Meals on Wheels 
to elderly individuals. “We 
are very grateful to our vol-
unteers,” says Susan Gertner, 
NCJW executive director. 

Shaindle 
Braunstein

Aubrey 
Macfarlane

Jim 
Janetzke

Susan 
Gertner

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

12-Month Changes in Consumer Price Index