Manischewitz donates 500 cans of kosher soup to Federation Food Pantry
Can do
Dayton area flooded the food company’s Facebook page with fans in online promotion
By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer, February 2010
When a representative of the Manischewitz kosher food company e-mailed the Jewish Federation on Jan. 13 that its food pantry had won 500 cans of soup, all the staff and volunteers could say was, “Man-O-Manischewitz!”
| Jewish Federation Asst. Exec. V.P. Deva Zwelling (L) and Admin. Asst. Alisa Nelligan with the 500 cans from Manischweitz |
The longtime slogan of the nation’s largest manufacturer of processed kosher food is also the name of its Facebook page, which trumpets Manischewitz’s new Fans for Cans giveaway promotion.
For every 500 Facebook fans the Manischewitz page receives, it is giving away 500 cans of chicken and beef broth to a food bank. All fans who sign up can nominate a food bank or soup kitchen to receive the cans. For each increment of 500 fans Manischewitz receives, it randomly selects a food bank from the list of nominees.
The Federation Food Pantry received 79 nominations during this increment of 500 fans, followed by Cincinnati’s Jewish Family Service, with 45 nominations.
| The Manischewitz Fans for Cans banner on Facebook |
Federation Social Action Committee member Eileen Wolf brought the promotion to the Federation’s attention on Jan. 6. She had received an e-mail from a friend in Cincinnati who let her know about Fans for Cans. Wolf told Federation Administrative Assistant Alisa Nelligan, who oversees the food pantry. After Nelligan got the green light from Federation Assistant Executive Vice President Deva Zwelling, she sent a blast to the Federation’s e-mail list and put a banner on the Federation’s Web site, jewishdayton.org.
“The response from the community was beyond fantastic,” Nelligan says. “It was neat to go to the page and see so many people — from teenagers to adults to people who don’t even live in the Dayton area — nominating us. We cannot thank the community enough.”
On the afternoon of Jan. 18, the 500 cans arrived at the Federation Food Pantry. The Dayton Jewish Federation is the second organization to win Manischewitz’s Fans for Cans promotion; the first was the Cleveland Food Bank in December. Manischewitz spokesperson Deborah A. Sidney says the Fans for Cans campaign will continue “indefinitely at this time.”
The Federation Food Pantry serves the general community. In 2009, it provided food to more than 2,100 people.
“I am so glad that we received the 500 cans,” Wolf says. “I know we can really use it.”
Foundation to match all March & April donations to Federation Food Pantry
The Feinstein Foundation of Cranston, R.I., which is dedicated to the alleviation of hunger, has selected the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton Food Pantry as a participant in its 2010 Challenge to Fight Hunger project.
According to Federation Grant Writer Simone Lotven Sofian, from March 1 through April 30, the Feinstein Foundation will match each one pound donation to the Federation Food pantry with a monetary contribution, up to a maximum of $40,000.
“The Feinstein contributions also apply to cash donations to the pantry,” Sofian said. “The more donations that come in from our community, the more we stand to receive from the Feinstein Foundation.”
For 13 years, Alan Shawn Feinstein, founder of the Feinstein Foundation, has distributed $1 million annually among anti-hunger agencies across the United States to increase their food donations. Feinstein is the founder of the Center for a Hunger Free America at the University of Rhode Island, which also administers the food challenge program.
— Marshall Weiss
To donate to the Federation Food Pantry
The Federation Food Pantry, which serves the general community, is in constant need of the following items: canned beans, canned fruit, canned pasta sauce, canned soup, canned vegetables, cereal, pasta, peanut butter, tuna, and toiletries (toilet paper, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.).
Drop-off barrels are located at Beth Abraham Synagogue, Beth Jacob Synagogue, Temple Beth Or, Temple Israel, the Boonshoft CJCE, Covenant House, Federation’s offices, and Hillel Academy.
The Federation Food Pantry also accepts monetary contributions to purchase food. E-mail Information@jfgd.net for more information.
