Food Donations

The Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry (HKJFP) was started in 1991 serving 40 families.

Now the largest food pantry in the region, the HKJFP annually serves more than 15,000 people from 72 different zip codes throughout St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

The HKJFP provides at least 10 days of food, including kosher options, and personal care items to more than 6,000 children, adults, and seniors every month. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of clients are children and 22% are adults over the age of 60. Eighty-five percent (85%) of all households served have incomes below the federal poverty level.

Using the Client Choice model, guests shop for themselves and select the foods that support their family’s unique preferences, nutritional needs and dietary requirements*. A staff of 12 and a volunteer workforce of more than 200 people ensure its smooth operations. Community members who visit the food pantry are often experiencing hardships in addition to hunger including unemployment or underemployment, lack of access to health care, and housing insecurity. The pantry’s staff and volunteers connect visitors and their families to JFS services or to an external partner in the community.

Your financial support allows our Food Procurement Manager to leverage your contribution to cost-effectively purchase large volumes of food.

We are also grateful to receive in-kind food donations from your food drives, which raise public awareness of hunger and food insecurity in our community, and provide a wide variety of canned and packaged foods for our pantry guests (see list of suggested foods below). To drop off food donations, please arrive on Monday through Friday between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. or call 314-513-1672 to arrange a time that works best for you.

* In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have adjusted our operations to meet local and regional health guidelines to keep our clients, volunteers, and staff safe. In March 2020, we shifted to a drive-through food distribution model that follows guidelines for physical distancing and streamlines food distribution, making our process more efficient and allowing us to serve more people. We plan to return to the Client Choice shopping model as soon as it is safe to do so.

Most Needed Items

• Cereal (please avoid sugary cereals)
• Canned vegetables (e.g. corn, green beans, peas, carrots)
• Canned beans (e.g. kidney beans)
• Pasta sauce
• Tomato products (e.g. diced tomatoes, Manwich)
• Tuna/canned chicken
• Soup
• Chili, beef stew, and protein-rich foods
• Peanut butter

Most Needed Personal Care Items

• Adult incontinence products
• Feminine hygiene products
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Floss
• Mouthwash

Items We Are Unable To Accept

• Food kits (rice, soup, or others) unless they are assembled under the direction of a health inspector and utilize the products and equipment of a certified food donation assembly company. For young children and other groups wanting a hands-on food donation project, we suggest other options such as assembling “grab and go” snack bags with food that is in its original packaging. This could include items such as granola bars, small boxes of raisins, and applesauce.
• Food that is very high in sodium such as dehydrated soup/meals. This includes Ramen Noodles, Nissin Cup Noodles, and Maruchan Instant Lunch.
• Canned or boxed food that is past the “sell by,” “use by,” “best by,” or “expired” dates
• Severely dented cans
• Open containers
• Leftovers from a family meal or event
• Medications, vitamins, or supplements