H eadlines
KleinLife and Philabundance Partner to Fight
Food Insecurity Among Seniors
L OCA L
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
WHEN KLEINLIFE SHUT
down congregate programs at
the start of the pandemic, the
organization’s clients were told
to stay home for their own
safety. Unfortunately, those who
relied on meal programs didn’t
know where their next dinner
would come from.

“We got
completely inundated by the phone calls
from the seniors that we usually
serve,” said Andre Krug, presi-
dent and CEO of KleinLife.

He knows exactly how
severe the food insecurity crisis
has become. Before last March,
309 seniors depended on his
organization’s meal support
program. At the height of the
pandemic, that number grew
to more than 800.

“It was a huge, huge under-
taking. Basically, we went from
delivering about 1,000 meals a
week to delivering about 3,500
meals a week,” he said.

To make matters worse, he
added, the volunteer pool that
usually stepped up to cook
meals at KleinLife’s facilities,
synagogues and community
centers was no longer able
to prepare and distribute the
food due to social distancing
requirements. Many volun-
teers were more than 60 years
old and considered especially
vulnerable to the coronavirus.

That meant the organiza-
tion made up the difference
by buying meals, which
put a strain on resources
and required significant
fundraising. To meet the growing need,
KleinLife announced on Feb.

16 that it will partner with
regional hunger relief organi-
zation Philabundance, which
will be preparing food for
deliveries in the Philabundance
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Philabundance Community Kitchen students prepare food for KleinLife
deliveries. Photo by Jonathan Gonzalez
and poultry.

She is painfully aware that
the pandemic has exacerbated
hunger in the Philadelphia
area and throughout the
country. She said COVID-19
has increased food insecurity
by up to 60%, and her organi-
zation serves approximately
135,000 people each week. In
the last year, it has distributed
more than 50 million pounds
of food through a network of
350 partners, including food
pantries, houses of worship,
community centers and
hospitals. We went from delivering about 1,000 meals a week to delivering
about 3,500 meals a week.”
ANDRE KRUG
Community Kitchen facility.

The PCK program provides
a 16-week course in culinary
training to adults with little or
no income.

“A big part of that is
learning about the science of
food, learning about how to
handle food safely so they can
then get a safe food handling
certificate, learning about how
to lead and follow manage-
ment in a working kitchen,”
Philabundance CEO Loree
Jones said. “It’s also about the
life skills that you need to be
able to hold to be gainfully
employed.” PCK had to pause operations
and switch to virtual learning
at the height of the pandemic
last year, but Philabundance
has been able to return students
to the kitchen using masks and
social distancing.

When Brian Gralnick,
director of social responsibility
at Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia, took a tour of
the PCK facility, he realized it
could provide an opportunity
to tackle rising food insecurity
in the community. Jewish
Federation identified a lead
funder to support the partner-
ship: Tony Schneider, a founder
of the Mitzvah Food Program.

“Many of our community
members are fighting to make
ends meet, including our most
vulnerable seniors,” Schneider
said in a statement. “I’m moved
by the devastating effect that
the pandemic has had and
was anxious to invest in a
new concept that could have
an immediate and meaningful
impact on those most in need.

The Jewish Federation’s plan
for a collaboration between
KleinLife and Philabundance
connected multiple elements
— helping vulnerable seniors
while also investing in the
long-term success and resil-
iency of our community.”
Jones said the partnership
will give KleinLife clients
access to a variety of healthy
meals that cater to diverse
diets, rather than relying on
a single option. Menus will
include vegetarian and pesca-
tarian meals along with beef
JEWISH EXPONENT
Jones added that seniors
are especially vulnerable due
to preexisting health condi-
tions, and many have had to
choose whether to use their
limited money to buy food,
buy medications or heat their
homes. She said Philabundance and
KleinLife have collaborated on
other projects before, but the
pandemic made the need for
strong partnerships in times of
crisis clearer than ever.

“This notion of partner-
ship and collaboration to solve
these really big problems is
part of our work every day, and
definitely is evidenced by this
partnership,” she said. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
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MARCH 4, 2021
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