Jewish Congregations Collect for Atlanta Food Bank

Two congregations in the North Druid Hills area are helping with a metro-wide effort across Atlanta's Jewish community to collect food for Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Congregation Or VeShalom on North Druid Hills Road and Congregation Shaarei Shamayim on Briarcliff Road are participating in Operation Isaiah, created to put food on tables during the Yom Kippur holiday. 

"The Operation Isaiah food drive has been a tremendous gift to our community for 20 years," said Bill Bolling, the Food Bank’s executive director and founder, in a statement. "Distribution to our partner agencies was up 34 percent this past fiscal year, and community efforts like this help us meet the continued increase in demand."

Ahavath Achim Synagogue, one of the city’s oldest congregations, founded the food drive in 1990. With almost every Jewish congregation and school in the metro area participating, the drive has now grown into one of the area’s largest food drives, bringing in more than 623,000 pounds of food for the food bank throughout its 20-year history. In 2010, the drive raised over 41,790 pounds.

"As a congregation we are happy to help our community," said Rabbi Neil Sandler of Ahavath Achim Synagogue. "Every year on Yom Kippur morning we hear the prophetic message of Isaiah: 'This is the fast I desire to share your bread with the hungry.' These are unfortunately timeless words. They must speak to us on Yom Kippur when we fast and on every other day when we do not. Let us really hear the words and respond. Operation Isaiah is one way we can do that.”

Families and individuals observing the High Holy Days will begin their personal fasts by donating bags of nonperishable foods to the food bank. Collected food is then distributed by the food bank to more than 700 partner nonprofit organizations that help feed children, elderly citizens and working poor families who otherwise might go without food. For information on the food drive, contact James Johnson at 404-892-9822, ext 1227.