Dan Wieder

United Hebrew Congregation

Knowing that many St. Louis area families are having a hard time putting food on their tables, Dan Wieder, son of Cathy and Rich Wieder of Chesterfield, decided to devote his mitvah project to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry.

Through his food drive, Dan collected more than 50 bags of non-perishable food from his neighbors, family and friends. “He chose this project because he learned that there is a large need for food to help out families who can’t afford to buy at the grocery store,” said Dan’s mother. “He chose the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry to follow in the footsteps of his sister, Sarah, who led a similar food drive for her bat mitzvah in 2005,” she continued. Dan also made a donation to the food pantry from the gifts he received from his bar mitzvah.

After collecting the bags, Dan, a student at Crestview Middle School, presented them to then-pantry coordinator Susan Rundblad. She told him that his donations came at a critical time when the needs of their clients were the greatest.

The food pantry is located in the Jewish Family & Children’s Service building, at 10950 Schuetz Road, and is available to anyone in the community who may need assistance providing for their family. Monetary donations as well as food and personal care items are greatly appreciated. Drop-off hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday until 8:30 p.m. For more information, call 314-993-1000.