NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – With hard economic times, it no surprise that demand at food pantries across the country is up.
That is also the case at Miami Dade County's only kosher food pantry. About 20 percent of American Jews keep a kosher diet.
With one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, South Florida's food banks are having trouble filling the need.
Coordinator of Jewish Community Services Food Bank, Bonnie Schwartzbaum told Local 10, they are here to serve a need here in the community.
She said, "As the bills come to the end of the month, often times it was a choice between paying the Florida Power and Lighting bill or food. We are there so they can have both."
The center serves more than one-thousand people a month and it's the only kosher food bank in Miami Dade County. Within the last two years, the number of clients has grown by about 20 percent.
Donations from local grocery stores and organizations help fill the shelves but sometimes its not enough.
Schwartzbaum told Local 10, "We always need more. There is never enough. We are constantly working to keep up."
The Jewish Community Center Kosher Food Bank also provides job placement services for their clients.
Offering a chance for those families in need, to get back on their feet during these though financial times.