SPECIAL SECTION:
C H A R I TA B L E GIVING
MAZON:
A Jewish Response to Everyone’s Hunger By Mala Blomquist
F
or more than 35 years, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger has been working with policymakers and engaging in broad-based advocacy to solve and fix the systemic problem of hunger in America. MAZON was founded by Leonard “Leibel” Fein (z”l) and Irv Cramer in 1985, to build a bridge between the relative abundance of the American Jewish community and the desperate need felt by millions of hungry people. “We work with people across the country,” says Tucson resident Liz Kanter Groskind, board chair of MAZON. “It’s a Jewish response to hunger, but it’s a Jewish response to everyone’s hunger.” MAZON is working on many different efforts, including hunger among active-duty military, food-insecure veterans, LGBTQ seniors and Native American populations. Most people don’t know that there are food pantries or food banks on or next to every major military base in this country. “It is a fact that they are not being compensated enough to support their families,” says Liz. “They include 16
DECEMBER 2020 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE
their housing allowance in their pay, which keeps them from being able to be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).” MAZON has been working on this issue for nearly a decade. On July 21, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a provision to address hunger among currently serving military families. The bipartisan Military Family Basic Needs Allowance, championed by MAZON, is a targeted provision that aims to eliminate common barriers to nutrition assistance for military families, including shame, stigma and fear of retribution. Another vulnerable community MAZON works with is Native American populations, as well as those who live in rural and remote communities. MAZON is deeply concerned about access to fresh and nutritious foods in these communities, where the nearest grocery store could be an hour away. But there is a new cause of hunger in America – the pandemic. Food banks provide the immediate need of food, but the number of people they serve has doubled and tripled, depending on the area, as a result of COVID-19. “The hardest thing isn’t the mechanism or process of doing our work – we know what we do, and we do it well – it’s that first time you saw 10,000 cars waiting hours and hours at the food bank,” says Liz. “That breaks my heart to see those folks who are food insecure who don’t need to be. If the system worked, they wouldn’t have had to do that.” MAZON is used to working on a federal level, but they have begun to work with individual states since it’s up to the governors to request additional SNAP benefits. SNAP is also commonly referred to as food stamps. “Most people are on food stamps only a short time, not more than 3-6 months,” says Liz. “This federal program was set up to be a food safety net, but unfortunately, often times the people who need it can’t get it.” During the pandemic, it has been difficult for people to sign up for help because the agencies have been closed and not everyone has computer access to sign up online. Another vital facet of the SNAP program is that it stimulates the economy. The latest COVID-19 relief bill to
