While many people are making plans for gathering with family and friends for Thanksgiving, not everyone is anticipating the holiday with excitement. Others are anxious, concerned about the increasing cost of food and cuts to programs that help feed their families.
Jewish Tidewater heard about the needs and responded with generosity. Local synagogues and other Jewish service programs collected donations from food drives totaling nearly $9,000 and financial contributions totaling nearly $30,000.
In November, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka SNAP) benefits were suspended. According to the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, families with children comprise 67% of Virginia’s SNAP recipients as of 2024, and more than 80% of the families who receive SNAP have been employed in the past year.
“Even before the SNAP cuts, we were concerned about the increased utilization of our food pantry,” says Kelly Burroughs, Jewish Family Service CEO. Earlier in the year, funding to Food Banks nationwide was massively cut. “These cuts have already led to fewer resources for food banks whose empty shelves bear witness to the greater need for their services.”
In addition to the funding cuts, the price of food increased by 2.9% from July 2024 to July 2025, according to USDA. Smaller pantries could not afford to keep their shelves stocked or their doors open. Many of them closed, which led to an increased number of people using the pantry at JFS each week. In fact, this Thanksgiving, JFS has more than 300 people signed up to receive meals—nearly twice as many as last year. Each family averages four to five people, meaning that almost 1,500 people this year will benefit from the generosity of Tidewater’s Jewish community’s support.
JFS often relies on monetary contributions to purchase supplemental items that are not available through the food bank, such as toilet paper and other hygiene products. “We are so grateful for the monetary donations and food drives that benefit JFS’ clients every day and even more considering the cuts to funding at Thanksgiving time,” says Brooke Rush, JFS director of development.
In addition to the food pantry, JFS also delivers meals through its partnership with Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia and Meals on Wheels of Chesapeake. “There is a myth that there is no hunger in Jewish households. But the truth is, one in four people who receive home delivered meals by JFS is Jewish,” says Rush.
“The community coming together to support one another is an incredible testament of tzedakah. No one should go hungry, and no one should be ashamed of need. That is why we exist,” Burroughs adds. “I think people underestimate how quickly we can be those people in line that we serve.”
