The High Holiday Grocery Gift Card Drive is the Mitzvah Food Program’s – and the Greater Philadelphia Jewish community’s – largest drive of the year! We need your help purchasing local grocery gift cards for those in our community who are in need.
WHERE: The drive is held at your synagogue or community organization. Once your drive is over, you can deliver the gift cards to one of our pantry sites or request that the Mitzvah Food Program pick up your collection.
WHEN: Monday, September 30, 2024 through Monday, October 28, 2024.
WHY: Your participation in this drive will help supplement our food pantries for several months and directly support your neighbors. It will also enable us to continue to stretch our dollars to serve the more than 4,100 individuals who attend our pantries each month.
HOW: Complete the required registration form (below) by Friday, September 13, 2024. Once we have your registration form, we will e-mail you a marketing kit which will include a customizable flyer to post and/or distribute.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT THIS YEAR? 2024 has been a challenging year for families facing financial hardship; compounded by SNAP assistance ending this past February. Food insecurity is significantly higher among those at or below poverty thresholds, with 46% of Jewish households that are at or below 200% of the federal poverty index identified as food insecure. Mitzvah Food Program has been actively striving this year to increase our fresh proteins and produce for our clients, as we realize those who suffer from food insecurity typically are simultaneously suffering from overall malnutrition. The continuation of providing food access is critical, we are modifying the Annual High Holiday Food Drive and invite you to support our pantries through our grocery gift card drive. There are two ways you can encourage other community members to help:
- By purchasing grocery store gift cards to be distributed directly to our clients so that they can choose the items they need from their local grocery store. We recommend gift cards from ShopRite, Acme and Giant, as these are the stores most easily accessible to our clients. Gift card values up to $50 are the most helpful.
- By purchasing foods through our Mitzvah Food Program Amazon wish lists so that the products are shipped directly to a pantry.
Mitzvah Food Program – High Holiday Grocery Gift Card Drive Reporting Form 2024
Due Date: Friday, November 22, 2024.
Questions? Contact Phil Holtje at 215.832.0815 or mitzvahfoodprogram@jewishphilly.org.