By Julie Sondhelm

Reflecting at the 10-year mark of Popsie’s Food Pantry serving the local community, it is clear how we have grown to meet the need surrounding us here at Jewish Family Services (JFS).

Food insecurity is an ongoing part of the landscape. We operate in a school district where 80 percent of students require assistance with lunch, as well as other meals. We serve the elderly, immigrants and refugees, individuals requiring kosher and other specific dietary requirements, families with children, individuals who are working but can’t make ends meet, people with disabilities and no access to transportation, and individuals of every race, religion, and gender identity. For 10 years, our doors have been open thanks to the vision and generosity of our own community. Through COVID and beyond, we know that we are and will be needed to provide the most vital and basic necessities- bread, meat, milk, and toilet paper, to name a few.

Popsie’s Pantry began after the 2008 economic downturn, when through our one-on-one work with clients we became aware of the choices they were being forced to make. Do I buy medication or food today? Do I pay my rent or keep the lights on? What can I feed my children tonight? These are real questions real people confront every day. We began through the support of Steve and Livia Klain Russell in a small room the size of a closet to our larger pantry now with space for fresh and frozen items. We allow our clients to choose the food that they want and need and we protect their privacy by scheduling appointments. We keep our barriers low and our practices welcoming to all. We go beyond the provision of these necessities to work with pantry clients on other issues- to connect them to other supports that have the potential to uplift their circumstance.

COVID-19 has been a challenge, but we have risen to it to continue to provide for essential needs. We pack the provisions that our clients choose and assist them to get here to pick up with all safety precautions in place or deliver when necessary. Each pantry visit is a touchpoint where we can check on our clients, many of whom are very isolated and lacking resources of all kinds. It is a “mask-to-mask” contact with a caring professional. Often other needs are revealed during those contacts and addressed.

Popsie’s Pantry began and remains a lifeline to the most vulnerable among us. It would not happen without the Jewish community’s support and is a powerful way to outreach and impact beyond our campus into the larger community. As we celebrate our growth and ability to maintain and pivot our services in these challenging times, we thank all of you.