Volunteering at the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry during his time in St. Louis prompted Cameron to continue this mitzvah when he moved to Atlanta, Ga. His bar mitzvah project benefited the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Cam’s project included a food drive and volunteering for several months at the Atlanta food bank with his parents, Jeannie and Bart Kraeger of Roswell, Ga.

To encourage the members of his temple to donate canned food, Cam purchased an iPod to raffle off to those that participated. His collection was very successful as he donated about 25 pounds of food as well as some monetary gifts. “I really enjoyed joking with my friends and teachers about the challenge of the raffle,” Cam said.

While working at the food bank, Cam was able to learn about the distribution process. Crews of 12 to 38 volunteers sort and pack approximately 5,000 to 7,500 pounds of food in a three-hour time slot. This translates into 125 meals and personal care items. Instead of going directly to families in need, these items were distributed to the numerous local area not-for-profit food pantries.

A student at Haynes Bridge Middle School in Roswell, Cam learned a great deal about food, nutrition and issues concerning hunger and obesity.  “I appreciate the vast amount of knowledge that was shared by the staff at the Atlanta Community Food Bank about their mission and services and how they do the many things they do to help the community have access to food and personal care items,” he said.

Although his mitzvah project is over, he and his family hope to be able to volunteer at the food bank in the near future.