TORONTO — Mazon Canada, A Jewish Response to Hunger, is holding its 10th annual Evening of Kosher Delicacies on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ontario Science Centre.
The event raises almost $100,000 annually toward feeding Canada’s hungry, offering funding to various Canadian organizations including Flemington Public School, in Toronto; Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank Foundation, in British Columbia; Maison Shalom, in Quebec; and Melville and District Food Bank, in Saskatchewan.
Shira Lester-Cohen, Mazon’s executive director, said that in 2007, her organization began funding a nutritional program at three Toronto District School Board alternative schools: Oasis Alternative Secondary School; the Triangle program at Oasis for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning youth; and Contact Alternative School.
The funding, in the amount of $7,500, was made possible by a $1 million grant to Mazon from the estate of Stephen and Sophie Lewer.
“For whatever reasons, many of these kids are from families without a lot of parental support, and food security is a big issue,” Lester-Cohen said.
Teachers were pleased with the grant, she said, because many students live on government subsidies and have very little to eat.
“Most of our kids never think about where their food is coming from, and here are these kids fully responsible for taking care of themselves.”
By holding the annual gala, Lester-Cohen said, Mazon ensures that programs such as these can keep running.
“Since our inception in 1986, we have allocated $7 million. We will never eradicate hunger, but if we can alleviate it, then we’ve accomplished something,” she added.
At the gala, guests will have the opportunity to taste test offerings from kosher chefs, including from the Steam Whistle Brewery, Cravings To Go, DSM Foods, Eventfull Specialty Event Bars, Guilt Free Cookies, Metropolitan Ice, Levy’s Catering, Baldwin Kosher, Bubbies Biscotti, Feature Foods, Grodzinski’s Bakery, Simcha Wine, Rhonda Litwack Fine Foods, Taam Tov Fine Catering, the Windsor Arms Hotel, Umami Sushi and Zuchter Berk Creative Catering.
For information or tickets, call Mazon at 416-783-7554.