The heartbreaking scenes of people waiting in long lines at food pantries have become increasingly common. Struggling families and destitute elderly and Holocaust survivors deserve to receive aid with dignity.
Meir Panim is steadfast in its commitment to preserve the dignity of the poor in Israel. To help struggling families, the elderly, and Holocaust survivors purchase basic necessities needed to survive, Meir Panim distributes prepaid shopping cards resembling credit cards each month, as well as before the High Holidays and Passover.
With the cards in hand, even poor individuals can shop at major food chain stores and purchase the foods and home goods that they need in order to support themselves and their families, without feeling the embarrassment of collecting handouts. The cards cannot be used to purchase alcohol or cigarettes. This method of assistance keeps true to Meir Panim’s careful attention to ensuring the preservation of respect and autonomy for the impoverished of Israel.
The food shopping cards are designed to help people who work but still cannot make ends meet, as well as those who are temporarily out of work and actively seeking employment. The cards also grant families facing considerable hardship a degree of dignity and equality, and help them avoid being labeled as poor.
It is a form of supplemental aid which maintains the self-respect of the recipients.
In a special project in cooperation with the Company for the Restitution of Holocaust Victims' Assets,
thousands of monthly food shopping cards worth $85 (300 NIS) are distributed to Holocaust survivors. This innovative project allows us to offer additional assistance for needy survivors on a new level, while preserving their self respect. Scarred with memories of a painful past, these survivors deserve the dignity of shopping for food and basic household goods without the embarrassment of receiving handouts.
The distribution of the prepaid shopping cards is a powerful component of Meir Panim's active endeavors on behalf of Israel's indigent population. By contributing to this cause, you will become an active partner in lighting up faces of the needy in Israel.
Thousands of food shopping cards are distributed to the needy each month and before the High Holidays and Passover.
The cost of sponsoring a card is $72 (Partial sponsorships available).
• To sponsor a Food Shopping Card for a needy family, click
here
