”We’re here to help you, and we’ll do whatever we can,” says Zuchy Altman, co-founder of SOVA Food Pantry Program.
November 2004 | Spotlight
No One in Los Angeles Should Go Hungry
The SOVA Food Pantry Program
by Eliza Thomas
As the proprietor of Zucky’s Deli, a beloved Santa Monica Jewish Delicatessen for over 25 years, Zucky Altman and her husband Hy regularly provided free hot meals to needy elderly people living in the neighborhood. When Hy’s illness forced them to retire from the restaurant business in the early ‘80s, the Altmans were loath to abandon the community that had come to depend on their kindness. “President Regan had put folks out on the street, and a lot of people were walking around hungry,” said Zucky, now living in Beverly Hills. “I worried, ‘Who was going to feed these people?’”
The Altmans decided to create a community food pantry, opening the doors at the first SOVA (Hebrew for “eat and be satisfied”) in 1983. Now a program of Jewish Family Service, SOVA has expanded operations to include three storefronts, a warehouse and an administrative office, providing assistance for over 2,500 needy people a month. In addition to nonperishable groceries and personal hygiene products, SOVA assists clients to transition from poverty to self-sufficiency by providing referrals to local medical, legal and employment services.
In a city known for glitz and glamour, it’s difficult to fathom that 15% of all households—over 1.4 million of our neighbors—struggle to put food on the table. Leslie Friedman, SOVA’s Executive Director who has been working with the food pantry program since she began as a volunteer in 1998, notes that in that time the clientele has shifted to include more of an unlikely food bank demographic: two-parent families with children. “A lot of our families are employed, and they simply can’t make it through the month on what they’re earning. The cost of living in Los Angeles is so high, and a lot of these people earn such a low wage that they’re spending most of their income on necessities like childcare, housing and health care.”
All who solicit SOVA’s assistance are treated with the utmost dignity and respect, and with the least amount of logistical red tape. As Friedman puts it, “We try to make it as comfortable as possible for people to be in the uncomfortable position of having to request food assistance.”
SOVA even permits clients to fill out pantry request orders, tailoring handouts to meet each client’s needs, as opposed to the standard method of pre-packed, uniform food packages. This tradition of dignified and compassionate treatment may be SOVA’s greatest contribution to the community, as it allows the organization to reach more people in need. In a country where only 60% of those eligible for food stamps take advantage of them, programs like SOVA provide a safe and welcoming alternative to the depersonalized and institutionalized welfare system.
In addition to volunteering time, SOVA welcomes donations of canned and boxed foods, baby items, children’s books and personal hygiene products. And for the holidays, SOVA would most appreciate donations of prepaid supermarket gift certificates “so that our clients can buy exactly what they need for the holidays.”
WLT reminds would-be donors to inquire with their employers to see if their company provides a matching gifts program, and to consider a SOVA tribute card when gifting friends and family. But as Friedman notes, “While we rely on our holiday donations, our desire is for people to recognize that the need for hunger relief is a year ‘round issue in this community.” Or, in the words of SOVA co-founder Zucky Altman, “When people are hungry, that’s what you do. You don’t play favorites. You just give.”
Contact SOVA Food Pantry Program Administrative Offices at 818.789.7633, or tap into www.jfsla.org/sova.
![[Send]](http://wholelifetimes.com/sendlink/send.gif){kind=small}
Recommend this page to a friend
Top Ten pages recommended to friends:
