News & Impact

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After 20 hours of travel and a quick stop over in London we have arrived to Berlin! After crossing the international date line we entertained ourselves with games of ninja and airport yoga and snacked on fish and chips while passing the time in Heathrow. Yvonne shares with us some of her first impressions: So, today was the flight….10 hours is a doozy, but the time went by fast due to all our adventures. For dinner we had our introduction to a kosher airlines meal which meant somehow nearly all our food came out frozen, but who after all doesn’t… Read More

Over their many years together, Jim and Dale became known as a San Francisco couple you could count on: to take part in campaigns for LGBT rights, to help friends living with—or dying of—HIV, and to support their city’s many cultural and athletic institutions. “I taught Dale to love football,” says Jim, 77, an ex-jock and Air Force vet, “and he taught me to love the ballet.” But as Jim and Dale, who is 69, have gotten older, they have had to face their share of infirmities. Jim has congestive heart failure, osteoporosis, and many other physical ailments. Over the… Read More

Some people dream of making it in law, medicine, or maybe Hollywood. Not Kenny Hockert. He dreams of making it big in the three K’s: kugel, kreplach, and kasha. A trained chef who spent many years working in New York restaurants, Kenny decided he wanted to fill a niche in the food truck business after moving to the Bay Area a few years ago. His specialty is Eastern European and Jewish “soul food’ reminiscent of his late grandmother Dora Rosenblatt’s family meals. “I have so many memories of spending time eating this food,” says Kenny, “and it has become a… Read More

Gabrielle had so much going for her: a strong mind, a caring heart, and a warm demeanor. But no amount of intelligence or sweetness could save her from the abuse that she suffered from the time she was a child. Sexually assaulted by her father and emotionally and physically maltreated by both of her parents, she ran away at 16 to pursue an education. But as she sought to improve her life, she met men who promised her love and security, but instead beat her brutally and sapped her of her spirit. At 17, Gabrielle became pregnant by one of… Read More

Danny Gabriner knows that growing a business is a lot like baking the perfect loaf of bread. You need to be willing to roll up your sleeves, get dirty, and keep a watchful eye as your product takes shape. When Danny, a former computer geek, decided several years ago that he wanted to shift gears and start Sour Flour, a bread business, he rolled up his sleeves and then turned to JFCS’ Small Business Loan Program for assistance. “I was always interested in food and San Francisco’s culture,” says Danny “and I wanted to create the best naturally fermented,… Read More