ABOUT THE UNITED INTERFAITH FOOD BANK
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SEE THE FOOD PACKING OPPORTUNITIES THIS YEAR
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 members of the UIFB include: Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont & Emanu-El, Scarsdale Congregational Church, Shaarei Tikvah - The Scarsdale Conservative Congregation and St. James the Less Episcopal Church. Each house of worship raises funds and/or organizes targeted collections, usually tied to major holidays, to encourage congregants to provide food and funds. All monetary donations go directly to purchasing food as necessary to supplement in-kind donations. We have no administrative costs.
Onsite packing and distribution ceased in 2020, although our effort to feed the hungry in Westchester continued through funding a partner organization. We restarted onsite activities in 2021.
Historically, from 2004 to 2017, the members of the United Interfaith Food Bank, together with Christ Church Bronxville, served three sites in the north Bronx, providing 100 bags of food twice a month to three Bronx organizations offering vital services to needy children, families and seniors. In 2018 the UIFB entered a new phase of operation, partnering with Feeding Westchester and with Family Services of Westchester to provide food to 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, freeing up some of their limited resources for other family necessities.
Each month, volunteers from the houses of worship comprising the UIFB , unpack deliveries from the Feeding Westchester, collect supplemental food items, sort and re-pack the food into individual family bags and deliver approximately 250 bags of food to five Family Services of Westchester Head Start sites. 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.