About Us
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Our History
Kehilat Food Pantry is a Non-Profit Kosher Food Pantry serving the Queens Jewish / Immigrant community via daily food distributions.
Established in 1990, Kehilat serves the Queens Immigrant & Jewish community via its open market/ client choice system where all of the food offered is out in the open and clearly visible, allowing clients to choose whatever food they would like for themselves and their family.
As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, what started as a small pantry soon saw a need to expand as the demand for service from clients increased exponentially, resulting in the expansion into the large community organization that it is today.
Volunteer Program
Sponsor Program
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What We Do
We serve over 6,000 individuals weekly, Over 21,000 monthly, and distribute over 25,000 food packages for the needy every month.
We distribute via scheduled events as well as provide emergency response as needed
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
We are open Sunday through Thursday. Hours and directions are listed below
PLEASE NOTE: All clients MUST have their phone number written down on a piece of paper BEFORE coming to our facility. This allows for health and safety as well as efficiency purposes to protect our staff and get clients served as quickly as possible. Clients can also download the Plentiful App on their phone, register and then use the code located in the “profile” section of the app. If a client fails to have either their phone number written down or the app we will ask them to leave and come back at a later date so we can keep the line moving and not interrupt service.
PLEASE NOTE: KEHILAT DOES NOT PROVIDE PEN & PAPER FOR CLIENTS TO WRITE DOWN THEIR PHONE NUMBER. CLIENTS WHO DO NOT WISH TO USE THE PLENTIFUL APP MUST WRITE DOWN THEIR PHONE NUMBER BEFORE COMING TO THE PANTRY, AND BEFORE COMING INSIDE TO REGISTER THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!
While we are a “First Come First Serve” pantry, we DO ask that new clients pre-register BEFORE coming to the pantry. This can be done via the "Plentiful” mobile application OR through our registration page linked HERE
Further information on this can be found on our registration page linked above
Clients are allowed to pick up Once every 7 days ONLY. On the day of pickup the client will be checked into our system and given a ticket to pick up food,
Following that day, the client MUST wait a full 7 days minimum before returning (ex: If a client picks up on Monday they must wait until the following Monday at minimum before they can pick up food again).
Clients Should Take Note Of The Day During Which They Were Last Served, and Plan Ahead For The Following Week. We will NOT override for clients who come early.
Clients MAY pick up for friends or family as long as those individuals are in our system and they have the informed consent of those clients to pick up on their behalf. Additionally, Photo ID MUST be presented for verification purposes.
Kehilat Food Pantry DOES reserve the right to limit the amount of people a client may pick up for in order to ensure a fair distribution of food each day.
Anyone picking up on the behalf of multiple clients is encouraged to come on a Tuesday or Thursday and should present their client list to our registration staff for verification of total food allocation.
*If you are picking up on behalf of an organization (housing shelter, professional group etc), please either bring a list of all the clients you are serving or speak with a member of management prior to coming. You can also email us and we will work with you that way as well.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CLIENTS ARE ONLY ALLOWED PICKUP ONCE A WEEK AND WE DO NOT OVERRIDE CLIENTS TO ALLOW FOR PICKUPS TWICE IN ONE WEEK.
If you miss your normal pickup day (Sun-Thu) you can may return on a different day, provided a full 7 days has passed since your last pickup day (i.e. if you normally pick up on Monday but miss Monday, you can come the following Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday).
Keep In Mind Whichever Day You Check In, You Must Then Wait A Full 7 Days From That Date Before You Can Return (EX: If You Normally Pick Up On Sunday And Come On Monday, You Cannot Return Next Sunday. You Must Wait 2 Weeks To Return On Sunday Once More).
*In the event that the pantry is closed on your normal pickup day, we WILL provide an override for the next day and allow you resume a normal pickup schedule the following week
While this does not happen often, food choices do vary each distribution day. If it happens that you check in and you do not wish to receive the day’s food variety, please step back in and speak to a member of the Registration Team so we can remove you for that day
If you have special dietary needs and do not see items on the line that match those needs please ask to speak with our distribution manager Nina and she will accommodate you.
Our volunteer team walking the registration line are trained to be on the lookout for any visibly frail or disabled clients. Any clients we encounter of this nature will be expedited for check in. We do not expedite based on age. Please see PRIORITY SERVICE for more information
Please reach out to us by email (Info@KehilatPantry.Org)
Hours, Directions, And The Answer To Most Questions Are ALL Available Via This Website. Please Check Online Before emailing us as we have limited staff available to review and respond to daily emails
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