Food Drive Donation

Home Shabbat & Holidays High Holy Days Food Drive Donation

For the 27th year, Temple Israel is proud to partner with the Greater Boston Food Bank for our annual Yom Kippur Food Drive — delivering their largest single-day donation.

Paper bags will be available on Rosh Hashanah; please fill them with non-perishable food and return them on Yom Kippur, Thursday, October 2, when the Food Bank truck will be on Nessel Way.

You can also contribute year-round by bringing food whenever you visit TI, or by making a financial donation through our website. Most-needed items include peanut butter, canned goods, pasta, rice, and personal care products. Please avoid perishable or refrigerated items.

What you CAN donate to your local food bank:

Food banks accept dry and canned food donations, i.e., any food that is “shelf-stable” or nonperishable – food you can keep in your pantry and it won’t go bad. Only donate food that hasn’t reached its “sell-by” date yet. Specifically, food banks often need items such as:

  • Peanut butter
  • Canned soup
  • Canned vegetables
  • Canned fish
  • Canned beans
  • Canned fruit
  • Canned stew
  • Salad dressings
  • Marinades (if not refrigerated)
  • Pasta (most prefer whole grain)
  • Rice (most prefer brown rice)
  • Personal care and household items

What NOT to Donate to a Food Bank

  • Items needing refrigeration.
  • Leftovers and Baked Goods: Food banks can’t accept leftovers or anything made in personal kitchens because they aren’t individually sealed and the food bank can’t verify the ingredients or preparation process.
  • Expired food
  • Food with packaging concerns: damaged packaging, dented or bloated cans, packaging that is already open, or items in glass containers, (which can shatter and cause food safety concerns for other food stored nearby).