How M’farnes Works

M’farnes sends each family a food stamp-like card which can be swiped in groceries across Eretz Yisroel. Using these cards, every family can buy however much food they need every week. The volunteer staff at M’farnes ensure that each card gets refilled every week, through funds that are raised by members and generous donors. Every single day, hundreds of souls eat three nourishing meals with food bought with the M’farnes cards. And of course, there is enough for plentiful Shabbos meals.

Donors and partners

Thankfully, many kindhearted and generous Jews have become full weekly sponsors and have each taken a family under their wing. The average amount to support a family is approximately $350 a week. Some donors pledge a weekly amount towards partial coverage. But these donations are not sufficient to cover M’farnes’ weekly budget. To cover the deficit, M’farnes volunteers knock on doors, go to local shuls, and appeal to any receptive ear to open their heart and help these impoverished families. Every effort is taken, no stone left unturned, to ensure that no card will be left unfilled.

Yom tov cards

There are numerous families who can make ends meet during the year, but cannot cover all the extra expenses that yomim tovim bring, and they collapse under all the extra stress. They receive a special card for Pesach, Yamim Noraim, and Sukkos, which allows them to shop for all their yom tov needs with dignity.

Waiting list

Though M’farnes is able to help hundreds of Jewish families, there are many more knocking at our door who also are in desperate need of assistance. Because of the massive need, we had to create a waiting list. As long as we can’t be sure that we have the money, we cannot pledge to support additional families. Unfortunately, we are these families’ best hope of finally being able to feed their children decent meals. The more money we raise, the more people we will be able to help.

Coming off our list

While we keep adding impoverished families to our list, we are happy to announce that we are also able to remove a number of names from our list. Some of the families we’ve assisted have told us that their financial situation has improved to the point that they can now afford their own groceries. Often this improvement is due to M’farnes’ guidance program, which helps people balance their budgets, find better paying jobs, and become financially independent.