Aaron Bennett, Congregation Shaare Emeth

Aaron, son of Brenda Bennett of Ballwin and Ronald Bennett of Moberly, volunteered at the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry for his mitzvah project. He chose this because he felt it was a good way to help his Jewish community, specifically addressing the hungry children and their families in St. Louis, by providing them with access to the food and support they need. Aaron is a student at Parkway Southeast Middle School.

Aaron wrote the following about his project:

I helped to prepare produce items for shelving. It was my job to select only the freshest fruits and vegetables for shoppers. I helped by doing things such as shucking corn, inspecting tomatoes and sorting all types of foods as well as helping to stock the refrigerator. There were many volunteers helping at the pantry. Seeing all these people there wanting to help others in need really warmed my heart, and I was excited to be working with such nice people. The volunteers I met came from all different parts of life. Some were retirees, but I was surprised to see lawyers, religious leaders, foster parents, even powerful businessmen and women all volunteering their time. There were also many other parent-child pairs working together as a family, just like my mom and me.

The thing that stuck out to me the most is just in our community there are so many people that don’t have enough to eat. The Jewish Food Pantry alone helps serve an average of 8,000 people each month. I think we all need to remember that we have a responsibility to help those who are less fortunate, and support others who are also trying to make a difference in their families and in their communities.