Yom Kippur also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services . At Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, it’s also the day of a food drive that collects a tremendous amount of food for Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. This annual event is the handiwork of Temple member Maxine Solomon, one of the founders of the Food Shuttle and she can be found hard at work, accepting donations and loading the truck throughout the day-long drive.
This was the 28th year the drive has taken place. Once the truck was returned to the warehouse the day after the drive, and the food was weighed, the total came to an impressive 4,816 pounds of non-perishable food items to be distributed through Food Shuttle programs such as BackPack Buddies, Grocery Bags for Seniors, School Pantries and Mobile Markets. Additionally, generous members contributed $2,100 in cash donations for the Food Shuttle.
Maxine Solomon helped found Inter-Faith Food Shuttle along with Jill Staton Bullard back in 1989 when they came to realize that restaurants were disposing of breakfast foods when the clock moved from “breakfast time” to “lunch time”. They took action and began to “shuttle” food from restaurants to programs that fed the hungry. Year after year, the Food Shuttle has recovered more and more food. From 750 pounds that first year to over 6 million pounds last year. Now 35% of all recovered food is fresh produce.