Shir Ami Collects More Than 31K Pounds Of Food For Hunger Relief

NEWTOWN, PA — Shir Ami Reform Synagogue of Newtown collected 31,174 pounds of food for eight local hunger relief agencies in 2023.

Not only did that help people experiencing food insecurity, it also supported the synagogue’s Code Blue initiative, where the congregation housed homeless persons overnight during extremely cold nights during the month of December.

Shir Ami board member and food insecurity chairperson Marc Luber expressed his gratitude to the congregation and the community.

“Our local community came through in a big way with food donations over the past year," said Luber. "This includes our Shir Ami congregants, our Early Learning Center families, as well as local schools and businesses that all participated to help us make a real difference.”

“We are so grateful to the Shir Ami community for their regular and generous support,” said
Mike Cerino, the director of the Warminster Food Bank. “Their food collections aid us in our work to help people in our community who are experiencing food insecurity.”

Members of Shir Ami Reform Synagogue of Newtown take a break from sorting and packing food last October. Along with over 100 other congregants and their families, the synagogue sorted and packed over 16,000 pounds of nonperishable food items to be donated to local food banks. From left are: Lindye Shechtman, Stu Kavitsky, Sy Kavitsky, Hugh Kavitsky, and Melanie Kavitsky.

The food collection is just one of Shir Ami’s many volunteer projects. The synagogue also collects food for multiple relief agencies throughout the Philadelphia region that serve individuals and families in need. It also has a monthly meal-making project for Caring for Friends, another Philadelphia nonprofit organization that provides meals to the homebound and homeless and serves as a food bank. The congregation is always in need of food donations.

To learn more about helping Shir Ami in their initiative to combat food insecurity, click here.