I hate shopping, but...

by Shalvi Waldman

0 Comments | Thursday, December 24, 2015 under Food Boxes

The Yad Eliezer warehouse provides over 5000 food boxes to needy families each month

I'll be honest, I hate food shopping. If I could, I would have a huge pantry and freezer and shop only every few months...

But with a large family and a small kitchen, bimonthly shopping really isn't an option. Each week or two I make my way up and down the isles, trying to remember what has run out and what I need to restock. I keep my eyes open for sales and try to avoid any 'extras'. Of course I try to buy items from various food groups keeping in mind that I must have an endless supply of ketchup for my big boy, and find a whole wheat bread without seeds for my little one who has been boycotting her sandwhiches. After passing my items through the checkout I hold my breath as the total is announced, and let it out slowly with relief if it is less than the magic number that I had in mind for the groceries. Then of course I need to get it all up the three flights of stairs and neatly stacked away in my cabinets. What can I say, food shopping isn't my favorite past time!

Food shopping takes on a whole new meaning when you are shopping for 20,000 people!

The Yad Eliezer warehouse provides over 5000 food boxes to needy families each month. Many of the recipients are large families, which means that our staff at the warehouse is doing the food shopping for over 20,000 people! For many of these families, the pantry essentials that they receive from Yad Eliezer will be the basis of their meals for the month. We carefully consider what we can fit into each box that will be most helpful, nutritious and have the most impact on the family's menu. We have arrangements with wholesalers who give us better prices than they give the supermarkets in order to help poor families.

We also have a surplus produce program that distributes fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since the first time that I visited the warehouse I've been fascinated by the massive amounts of food that pass through each month. This past month we asked the staff to share their numbers with us, and their chart is below.

There is one item missing on the chart - spaghetti! If you can guess how many bags of spaghetti we bought and distributed last month we'll send you and a friend out for an Italian dinner on us! (Write your answer on our Facebook page)