This month, the East Valley Jewish Community Center (EVJCC) will launch JBox, a kosher monthly lunch delivery service for seniors and families in need in the East Valley. JBox is the new name of Ladles of Love, the EVJCC’s kosher meal delivery service that began in 2016.
The first delivery is Wednesday, Sept. 30.
The meals will be prepared by Chef Melinda McNeil in the EVJCC’s kitchen, which is under the kosher supervision of Rabbi Michael Beyo. The meals will be delivered by staff members and volunteers, in a contactless delivery in an effort to keep both recipients and drivers safe.
In addition to a tasty meal, the JBox will include additional goodies, such as drawings from students in the EVJCC’s Early Childhood Learning Center and toiletries donated by ECLC families. They will also have holiday themes; the first one will be related to the High Holidays. To learn more about the ECLC’s Mitzvah Project that is collecting toiletries, visit evjcc.org/mitzvah.
The original program, Ladles of Love, welcomed groups of volunteers to help prepare meals in the EVJCC’s kitchen one Sunday a month and then deliver them to seniors and families in need across the Valley. The new format was partly due to needing to limit the number of people in the kitchen because of COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.
The shift to focusing on East Valley residents was due to an increased need in the East Valley and the necessity to increase and improve timing with relation to food preparation and delivery. Last year, the Ladles of Love program served over 3,000 meals and the EVJCC plans to exceed that number this year due to the pandemic, according to Rabbi Michael Beyo, EVJCC CEO.
This new format also provides an opportunity to add additional delivery dates if needed. The program is part of CORE: Community. Outreach. Relationships. Engagement., a project of the EVJCC.
To sign up for a meal or to recommend a meal delivery for someone in need, visit evjcc.org/jbox. Volunteer drivers can also sign up on the site.
Future 2020 dates are Oct. 28, Nov. 18 and Dec. 16.
