Financial & Food Assistance

Even within our small Jewish Community, families and individuals are in need of food and financial aid. With your help, we strive to improve their quality of life with support.

To set up an appointment for financial or food assistance, please call our office at 919-676-2295 ext 113 , email JFS@ShalomRaleigh.org or click here. Food distribution is by appointment only.

To make a monetary donation to our financial and food assistance program, please click here.

To contribute to our Food Pantry visit our wish list or purchase items online through Amazon.

Emergency Financial Assistance

Jewish Family Services has limited funds to provide short-term emergency financial aid for Jewish individuals and families who are in a financial crisis. If you require financial assistance, please call to set up an appointment to meet with one of our social workers- 9119-676-2295 ext 113 , email JFS@ShalomRaleigh.org or click here.

• Through the Women & Children’s Needs fund, JFS is able to support women and children facing financial emergency or crisis. To give directly to this fund, please click here.

• JFS is also proud to take part in the KAVOD SHEF initiative, providing emergency financial assistance for Holocaust survivors in the Wake County community. To learn more about this initiative, please click here and to support this program, please click here. If you are a Holocaust survivor and need assistance, please click here.

• JFS is a partner agency with The Green Chair Project- The Green Chair Project partners with nonprofit agencies that are helping provide their participants with the education and assistance they might need to promote self-sufficiency after experiencing homelessness. If you have a need, JFS social workers can make a referral in order to participate in this program. No self-referrals or referrals from unapproved partners will be processed.

Food Assistance

Did you know that more than 651,000 people in central and eastern North Carolina live in food insecure households, and 1 in 4 of them are 65 years or older?

JFS assists those facing food insecurity in several ways:

• The JFS Food Pantry is the only food pantry in Wake County that offers a Kosher section. Our Pantry offers non-perishable items and a limited amount of personal hygiene/toiletry items and serves residents all over Wake County. In 2020 alone, our food pantry provided children, families and older adults with over 14,000 nutritious meals

  • Check out what our Pantry currently needs by visiting our wish list or purchase items on Amazon .

  • Receiving food from our pantry is by appointment only. Please call 919-676-2295 to speak to one of our social workers.

• JFS also assists Jewish individuals and families with Mitzvah Meals – kosher-style prepared meals delivered twice a month. The Mitzvah Meal program is offered in Wake County and in New Bern, NC.

• From time to time, JFS organizes or participates in food collections for other organizations (such as the Interfaith Food Drive) or coordinates volunteer opportunities to address food insecurity (Such as meal packaging for Rise Against Hunger). To learn about an upcoming event, click here.

Want to help our food assistance programs?

• Go to our Wish List to find the items we need most. Food can be dropped off in the box outside our office at any time. If you order through Amazon, the food will be delivered directly to us!

• Organize a Food Drive. Check out our Tips for running a successful food drive.

• Give monetary donations toward food assistance.

To set up an appointment for financial or food assistance, please call our office at 919-676-2295 , email JFS@ShalomRaleigh.org or click here.

JFS is a partner of:

Jewish Educational Loan Fund (JELF)

JELF grants interest-free loans to Jewish students from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for post-secondary study at accredited institutions. JELF’s Loans are “last dollar” — they supply the final funds that a student needs to attend school. These loans can be used for study at a college or university, graduate school or professional/vocational school that leads to a degree or certificate.

In 2020, JELF (Jewish Educational Loan Fund) provided 394 interest-free loans to Jewish college, graduate, and vocational students. This jump in loans came from an increase of 66% more applications over the previous year. 

JELF serves students in the five-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia (excluding metro DC) as they pursue their higher education. In Wake County, JELF helped 26 local students with $81,138 in financial aid. The total student need for all the students in the JELF region was $2,352,906. Through student repayments, increased fundraising, and the generosity of the Marcus Foundation, JELF was able to allocate $1,553,739 in interest-free, last dollar loans to these students.

Raleigh-Cary Jewish Family Services is the local administrator of the JELF loan. To learn more and apply for a JELF loan, please visit www.jelf.org.