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<\/a>The hubs, situated in Vancouver, the North Shore, Burnaby, Surrey, the Tri-Cities and Richmond, offer fruit and vegetables. The program does not provide any meats, poultry or shellfish, and ensures that items are available for clients who follow a kosher diet.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the clients are people who are struggling to make ends meet, and your rent has to get paid. It often takes primary resources to pay your rent, and then food and other necessities come second. A lot of people are at a point where, at the end of the month, they don\u2019t have money to put food on their tables, so they\u2019re looking for assistance for that,\u201d Schwartzman said.<\/p>\n
She added that, if people do not have enough money, they choose the least expensive options, which are often not the healthiest. Thus, a community kitchen that supplies nutritious produce can be vital to a person\u2019s well-being, she said.<\/p>\n
The Independent<\/i> caught up with Schwartzman and Vinegar on a spring afternoon. They were about to prepare the ground for planting on a Lower Mainland farm, the produce from which would be distributed by JFS.<\/p>\n On Dec. 31, 2020, the couple suffered a tragedy, losing their 31-year-old son, Maxwell (Moishe) Vinegar, in a skiing accident. Prior to his passing, the family had had a conversation about food security, which reflected on a period when their son was young, and the family would deliver food for the food bank for Hanukkah.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a lot of conversations with our kids about what it means to be a member of your community and be responsible and look out for our other community members,\u201d Schwartzman said. \u201cThat December, around Hanukkah time, we were saying to him, \u2018Hey, you should go help at the food bank.\u2019 And he said, \u2018I\u2019m busy working, Dad, you\u2019re retired, you should go do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In trying to come out of their grief, Vinegar and Schwartzman started their food efforts with donations people made after Max\u2019s death, which they requested be directed to JFS. A friend of theirs who owned a farm in the Okanagan planted an acre of squash \u2013 a sign notes that all the squash growing on the acre is for JFS in Moishe\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went up to help look after that for a couple of weekends that first summer, and that sort of got us thinking that maybe we can find somewhere to grow food to provide it to Jewish Family Services,\u201d Schwartzman said.<\/p>\n The next summer, Vinegar spoke to a blueberry farmer in Richmond, who put the couple in touch with a family that lets them use their half-acre backyard, at no cost, to grow vegetables for the food bank.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve grown a variety of things over the years, but what grows the best there is zucchini and squash, butternut and acorn, and we also have green beans,\u201d Schwartzman said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been generously supported by West Coast Seeds.\u201d<\/p>\n Further efforts include growing 300 plants at Richmond Jewish Day School last year, building relationships with local farmers, and spreading the word about tax benefits for those who donate excess crops to bolster food security.<\/p>\n \u201cLarry has been quite instrumental and not afraid to go talk to different farmers around the Lower Mainland, just at the end of the season, to say you didn\u2019t sell your crop, we\u2019ll be happy to come pick it up,\u201d Schwartzman said.<\/p>\n Vinegar has also developed a relationship with Costco after he walked into one of their stores and spoke with a manager about supplying unsold goods to food banks instead of disposing of them. All Costco stores give away food that is getting close to its stale date, said Schwartzman. \u201cThey donate to a different organization each day.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, Vinegar and Schwartzman were recipients of the inaugural JFS Lighting the Way Award. At the presentation, they were described as \u201cembodiments of JFS\u2019s values, demonstrating innovation in their commitment to social good.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>