BUSINESS Second Helpings Gets $50,000 Alon’s is Coming to Buckhead from Rich Foundation By Bob Bahr
The Rich Foundation has awarded Second Helpings Atlanta $50,000 to continue reducing hunger and food waste in the metro Atlanta area by rescuing healthy, nutritious surplus food and distributing it to those in need. Over the past year, the nonprofit food rescue organization reported a significant surge in need as an increasing number of Atlanta families experience food insecurity in response to the pandemic. Andrea Jaron said the donation will help So far this year, SHA has rescued SHA “drive out hunger” in Atlanta. 1.3 million pounds of healthy, nutritious surplus food to provide over 1 million meals to those in need. “This generous donation will help us continue to drive out hunger in metro Atlanta,” said Andrea Jaron, executive director of Second Helpings Atlanta. “We rely on our community to help us tackle the very real and debilitating issue of food insecurity every day.” With a community of over 200 volunteers, SHA serves as the link between food donors and partner agencies who feed the hungry on a daily basis. The Rich Foundation is a private foundation whose purpose is to benefit nonprofit organizations in the fields of arts, civic, education, health, environment and social welfare in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Established in 1943, the foundation was created to distribute a share of the profits of Rich’s, Inc., the Atlanta department store. Through the years, the foundation has been a major supporter of Atlanta’s charitable and educational life.
Jewish HomeLife’s COO Receives National Award Jewish HomeLife’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeffrey A. Gopen, has won the Professional of the Year Award presented by the Association of Jewish Aging Services. AJAS represents more than 100 Jewishsponsored, not-for-profit senior care organizations in the United States, Canada, Israel and Australia. The organization presented this award during its annual convention, held virtually in March. The Professional of the Year award is given annually to an outstanding AJAS member professional who “reflects the highest standards of knowledge and expertise, shows exceptional leadership, and is highly respected by staff, residents, and families served.” Jeffrey Gopen won national In addition, Gopen was elected treasurer of the Professional of the Year Award. board for the Georgia Center for Assisted Living at its May meeting. GCAL is the local affiliate for the National Center for Assisted Living and serves Georgia’s skilled nursing centers and assisted living communities. “Jeff has dedicated his entire professional career to improving the lives of older adults,” said Harley Tabak, Jewish HomeLife’s president and CEO. “He has built a top notch operations team that works together, mentors and challenges each other, and has made Jewish HomeLife a stronger, more sustainable organization.” During the past year, Gopen led Jewish HomeLife’s Incident Command Center, the organization’s COVID-19 Task Force, which managed the organization’s pandemic response and infection control efforts. Under his leadership, the organization has also been able to provide COVID testing and personal protective equipment procurement for other Jewish agencies and day schools around the metro Atlanta area. Jewish HomeLife is a nonprofit network of nine at-home care services and residential communities. 18 | JUNE 15, 2021ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES
Alon Balshan is opening the third location of Alon’s Bakery & Market this month at Phipps Plaza. The new Peachtree Road location will have the same menu and fresh bakery products as his other locations in Dunwoody and Virginia Highlands. The latest location was originally expected to open last June but was delayed because of the pandemic. The menu will feature freshly prepared breads, pastries, chocolates and European-style cakes as well as soups, salads and sandwiches. There will also be a patio area with outdoor tables and seating. A limited selection of packaged grocery items and wines will also be offered. The location will occupy the Alon Balshan keeps a hands-on approach former Twist restaurant space near to running his bakeries and markets. Nordstrom on the side of the mall facing Peachtree Road. Alon’s, which first opened in 1992 is owned by Balshan, who moved here from Israel in the mid1980s. The new 5,000-square-foot Phipps Plaza location is somewhat smaller than the location in Morningside, which is 6,500 square feet, and the Dunwoody market, which is 11,000 square feet. The business, which also offers catering, is adding a 20,000-square-foot wholesale bakery in Doraville to expand its sales of baked goods to the more than 60 restaurants and other food service locations it now supplies. The addition of the new Alon’s location is in line with the $300 million facelift that puts less emphasis on retailing at Phipps Plaza. The owners of the mall, the Simon Property Group, touted as the largest operator of American shopping malls, has dropped one of its three large department stores and has plans to add a luxury hotel, a 13-story office tower, a fitness center, additional restaurants and a grassy area for gatherings.
Stern Leads Matrimonial Lawyers in Georgia By Flora Rosefsky Carla Stern, an Atlanta family law attorney, has been installed as president of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. It is the same position her father, attorney George Stern, once held on the national level. Carla Stern is a partner at Stern & Edlin Family Law, P.C. An Atlanta native, she received her law degree at Quinnipiac University, returning to Atlanta in 1990 to practice in her father’s law firm, ultimately becoming a partner. Stern shared with the AJT that George was not only her father but was also her mentor from the time she joined Stern & Edlin until he passed away in 2014.
Carla Stern is president of Georgia chapter of American Matrimonial Lawyers.
