Scarsdale Synagogue Gives a Face Lift to Food Bank Social Action Program

The United Interfaith Food Bank (the "UIFB") is a cooperative of houses of worship in southern Westchester which has been helping to feed the hungry since 2004.

The UIFB will enter a new phase in 2018, partnering with the  and with Family Services of Westchester to provide food to low-income and extremely low-income families in White Plains. Through the Food Bank for Westchester, the UIFB is able to obtain food at steeply discounted costs and therefore help feed more individuals at less cost. Family Services of Westchester runs Head Start programs at several sites in White Plains. The young children attending these programs are provided with breakfast, lunch and a snack during each school day but they (and their siblings and parents) are at risk for going hungry on weekends and holidays. The UIFB seeks to help bridge this gap by providing bags of food to these families to supplement what they need to purchase, freeing up some of their limited resources for other family necessities.

Each month, volunteers from the houses of worship comprising the UIFB (Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont & Emanu-El, Scarsdale Congregational Church, Shaarei Tikvah - The Scarsdale Conservative Congregation and St. James the Less Episcopal Church), unpack deliveries from the Food Bank for Westchester, collect supplemental food items, sort and re-pack the food into individual family bags and deliver approximately 100 bags of food to Family Services of Westchester Head Start site(s). Each bag contains a variety of foods such as canned vegetables and fruits, beef ravioli, tunafish, soup, black beans, rice, pasta, pasta sauce and cereal.

Historically, the current members of the United Interfaith Food Bank, together with Christ Church Bronxville, served three sites in the north Bronx from 2004 to 2017, providing 100 bags of food twice a month to three Bronx organizations offering vital services to needy children, families and seniors. Each house of worship has raised funds and/or organized targeted collections, usually tied to major holidays, to encourage congregants to provide food and funds. Anyone wishing to donate to support this worthy program can donate online here. Just select "social action" from the choices of funds. All monetary donations have gone directly to purchasing food as necessary to supplement in-kind donations. We have no administrative costs.

Volunteers are needed. 
Contact us here if you are able to help.

Thursday afternoons (once or twice a month), to help unload deliveries from the Food Bank for Westchester;

Thursday afternoons or Friday mornings to sort and pack individual family food bags for delivery to the Head Start children;

Fridays before 2:00 P.M. to deliver food bags to White Plains

Scarsdale Synagogue is a reform Jewish congregation located at 2 Ogden Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583. 914.725.5175. Scarsdale Synagogue Website