SAN DIEGO – Members of the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Sisterhood volunteered at Jewish Family Service (JFS) San Diego on Wednesday, November 12, helping make challah for the Lieber’s Corner Market at the Balboa Avenue campus.
Marissa Dates, Associate Director of Community and Volunteer Engagement, welcomed the Sisterhood volunteers and guided the group to the event space, where tables were already set with prepared challah dough, gloves, and hairnets.
Before beginning the challah braiding, Dates gave an overview of JFS’s mission and values. JFS partners with people of all backgrounds to build stable, dignified lives, creating a stronger and healthier community where everyone can thrive. Its guiding values include Justice (Tzedek), Hope (Tikvah), Community (Kehillah), Repairing the World (Tikkun Olam), Acts of Loving Kindness (Gemilut Chasadim), and Healing (R’fuah).
JFS supports individuals and families across San Diego County, Palm Springs, and Orange County, addressing needs such as nutrition assistance, transportation, community connection, mental health, immigration legal services, and economic stability.
Dates asked the volunteers if they knew the difference between hunger and food insecurity. “Hunger,” she explained, “is the physical discomfort caused by lack of food — that rumbling feeling in your stomach. Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life — a shortage of resources.”
She shared that in 2024, an estimated 2.3 billion people worldwide faced food insecurity, with 149 million children under five years of age suffering from stunted growth due to malnutrition. In San Diego County, 1 in 4 individuals, about 822,000 people, experience food insecurity. That includes 31% of children (212,000), 25% of older adults (176,000), and 36% of individuals with disabilities (133,000).
One-way JFS helps address this issue is through Lieber’s Corner Market, a nutrition assistance resource for individuals and families working with JFS programs. The market offers fresh produce, meats, dairy, prepared meals, hygiene and baby items, and even pet food when available. Instead of cash, shoppers use a points system based on family size. For example, a family of four might receive 50 points per month, with fruits and vegetables costing zero points.
The market’s goal is to supplement, not replace, a family’s food supply. Dates encouraged volunteers with fruit trees to contact JFS for gleaning opportunities or to drop off boxes of fresh fruit. She noted that volunteers also collect produce from local farmers markets, and when there’s an overabundance of an item — such as Dino kale — JFS provides recipes to inspire shoppers.
As the Sisterhood members washed their hands, put on hair nets, and began shaping the challah, Dates explained that the challah recipe is vegan, making it suitable for people with egg allergies and accessible to a variety of cultures and dietary needs.
“Challah is enjoyed beyond the Jewish community,” she said. “Many cultures have similar breads — it’s a way to share comfort with everyone.”
Volunteers were given the option to “make one and take one.” I chose to leave both, because it warmed my heart to think of families coming in to shop and finding a freshly baked challah to share at dinner that night. Sisterhood members contributed a combined total of $216 in support of JFS programming.
After the challah forming portion, Dates led a tour of the campus, highlighting JFS’s many services. Outside, volunteers saw the food distribution area for federal employees affected by the government shutdown, as well as clients who use JFS’s online food ordering system, similar to Instacart, for convenient drive-up pickup.
She also pointed out the Safe Parking Program, which allows up to 60 vehicles to park overnight at the Balboa campus. The program provides a safe place for individuals and families living in their cars. Participants may arrive at 6 p.m. and must leave by 6 a.m. Two family restrooms with showers are available by appointment for those enrolled in the program.
For more information about JFS services and volunteer opportunities, click here.
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Cailin Acosta is the assistant editor of the San Diego Jewish World.