- December 9, 2024
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Marvin Miller, president of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties, has been giving out turkey dinners to families in need for the past 20 years through the Jerry Doliner Food Bank.
The food bank is one of the federation’s programs designed to assist the local community. This year, volunteers gave 1,000 bags of groceries to 400 families in need the week before Thanksgiving. Based on a family of four, that is the equivalent of approximately 1,600 turkey dinners. Miller said it was the biggest demand they have ever had.
“It’s so wonderful to be here,” Miller said. “We love it. The highlight is our volunteers. If you look around, you see how excited they are to be here.”
There is nothing more meaningful than being able to help our neighbors... Our community is a family. When people in the family are struggling, we all have to join together and help each other out. For us, it’s not just about giving food which is very important, it’s about sharing compassion. We are purveyors of compassion." - RABBI ROB LENNICK, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties
The food bank has been giving out groceries every week for 27 years. A core group of 20 volunteers work weekly with an additional 15 added the week the turkey dinners are distributed. People who requested turkey dinners arrived during their specific time slot, which ran in increments of 15 minutes from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. They checked in, then volunteers delivered the bags of groceries to their cars.
Rabbi Rob Lennick is the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties. This is his third year participating in the Thanksgiving dinner giveaway. He noticed that it had grown exponentially. He said the number of people coming to the food pantry has doubled. In the last 12 months, they have served over 19,000 people.
“There is nothing more meaningful than being able to help our neighbors,” he said. “We really need to remember that we are a family. Our community is a family. When people in the family are struggling, we all have to join together and help each other out. For us, it’s not just about giving food which is very important, it’s about sharing compassion. We are purveyors of compassion.”
He said the food bank only happens because of the volunteers—they are the real heroes.
“Our neighbors need a little boost,” Lennick said. “We just need the community support to do it.”