Cherishing the Traditions That Bind Us
In this year's Passover campaign letter, we included a special message from Jenny, a client who benefited from ...
Read More 
Coming Together for Mental Health
Passport: Mental Health On January 19, JFS, with the generous support of United Way of BC, hosted the ...
Read More 
Celebrating Culinary Heritage and Community Connections
On December 19, 2024, the most recent Supper Club event, One Family's Story: A Persian Jewish Journey, brought ...
Read More 
Sara’s House: Honouring a Legacy
ASTEH Becomes Sara's House Sara Ciacci z'l is, in many ways, an urban legend-a name synonymous with impact, ...
Read More 
A Gift of Joy and Tradition
This fall, Barbara Silber celebrated her 75th birthday in a way that truly reflects her generous spirit-by giving ...
Read More 
Honouring Legacies: 2024 AGM Award Recipients
This year's Annual General Meeting included an awards ceremony. The recipients selected have all made remarkable impacts through ...
Read More 
Expanding Local Partnerships for Food Security
This fall has brought an expansion of local partnerships for JFS Food Security Programs. These partnerships are enriching ...
Read More 
A New Model for Success
We are proud to share with you the exciting success of a new program model that JFS is ...
Read More 
The Living Room: Support Groups for Community
October 7th, 2023 was just a regular day in the lives of many communities. October 7th was a ...
Read More 
Celebrating Volunteers Who Bring Compassion to Life
On September 4th, volunteers from all JFS programs were celebrated and thanked at a special Volunteer Appreciation event. ...
Read More 
Celebrating 40 Years of Nourishing Lives
This Hunger Action Month, we pause to reflect on our shared journey-40 years of nourishing lives and fostering ...
Read More 
New Canada Disability Benefit
Learn about the new Canada Disability Benefit (beginning July 2025) and how it's related to the existing Disability ...
Read More 
Global Demographic Report on Jewish Holocaust Survivors
In January 2024, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) released the Global Demographic Report on ...
Read More 
Thank you for Lighting the Way!
Together, we raised over $420,000 to support more than 3,000 people through JFS' vital programs and services. [Photography ...
Read More 
Announcing our Chai Raffle winners!
JFS is pleased to announce the winners of our first-ever Chai Raffle! Winners were drawn at 9pm, May ...
Read More 
Collaborating to Provide Homelessness Services
For years, JFS has been working collaboratively with community members to shape programs and services. From the reports ...
Read More 
Lighting the Way – 18 Years of Chai Impact
2024 is the 18th, or Chai anniversary of our most significant fundraiser, JFS Innovators. In that time, the ...
Read More 
Get ready for spring with the Vancouver Jewish Community Garden
The Spring Equinox is right around the corner and the Vancouver Jewish Community Garden is officially ready for ...
Read More 
A Holistic Approach to Senior Wellness: Mind, Body, and Spirit
Being healthy is not a "one-size-fits-all" concept: it looks different for everyone. Enter holistic wellness, which acknowledges that ...
Read More 
Finding Hope: Overcoming Mental Health Stigma
In recent years, the topic of mental health has been just about everywhere: in conversations, on billboards, and ...
Read More 
Celebrating the Holidays: Tips to Lower Stress
Whether it be Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Winter Solstice or Festivus for the rest of us, most cultures and ...
Read More 
JFS Has a New Permanent Home
Jewish Family Services (JFS) is excited to announce the purchase of a commercial building at 2929 Commercial Drive ...
Read More 
Thank you for nourishing our community!
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in Project Isaiah to help bring healthy and nutritious food ...
Read More 
Message from the CEO regarding Israel
This weekend, during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, a day synonymous with spiritual healing and reflection, Hamas ...
Read More 
Vancouver Jewish Community Garden
The Vancouver Jewish Community Garden is in full bloom. Click Here to Learn More
Read More 
Reflections From our UBC Dietetics Interns
Among its many roles in our community, JFS is an educational hub that emphasizes skill-building and empowerment for ...
Read More 
Project Isaiah is coming up soon!
For years, Project Isaiah has been a community-wide food drive collecting non-perishables. Each year, you've stepped up and ...
Read More 
Food Bank or Food Hub: What’s in a name?
Hunger Action Month is here again! At JFS, we are working on food access issues, hunger, and food ...
Read More 
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
In partnership with Jewish Family Services, Kerrisdale Oakridge Marpole Better at Home, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater ...
Read More 
The Grand Opening of the VJCG!
MindsEye Photography by Tybie; Nucleus Photography by Efrat Gal-Or On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the community came together to ...
Read More 
The Significance of Language in Counseling: Fostering LGBTQ2S+ Inclusivity
How do service providers such as JFS create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ2S+ clients? It's an important question ...
Read More 
Thank you for Imagining the Future!
Together, we raised over $442,000 to support more than 3,000 people through JFS' critical programs and services, including food ...
Read More 
Nourishing Bodies, Minds, and Spirits
On the sunny afternoon of May 11th, 50 people from JFS’ community joined together at the Kitchen for B’tayavon: A ...
Read More 
Uniting Communities through Food
The Bvulgari Chapter of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW-Vancouver) visited The Kitchen to bake 200 Hamantaschen for JFS clients ...
Read More 
Social Justice Through Counselling
JFS counsellors are trained to use a social justice lens to reduce barriers affecting marginalized people in our ...
Read More 
Volunteer Spotlight: Melissa
Once a week, Melissa spends time at The Kitchen assisting with food prep and packaging for the Meal ...
Read More 
Volunteer Spotlight: Malcolm
As a UBC undergrad student originally from Kamloops, Malcolm wanted to give back to his new community and ...
Read More 
Community Kitchen: Dumplings from Around the World
The Community Kitchen series bring individuals together to learn new skills, and to connect with the community through ...
Read More 
City Beet Farm: Veggies for Neighbours
JFS is partnering with City Beet Farm this year! City Beet Farm is a small-scale, multi-site urban farm ...
Read More 
Learning from Each Other: Intergenerational Dialogues
JFS' Thriving Seniors held its first Intergenerational Dialogue program, "Learning from Each Other" last month, which brought together ...
Read More 
Building Bridges to Inclusion
The path to our amazing partnerships and projects has always been led by our values. We are proud ...
Read More 
JFS Innovators 2023: Imagine the Future
We are excited for the 17th annual Innovators Lunch. After three years of being apart, we can't wait for ...
Read More 
2022: A Year in Review
Another year has come and gone - what a year of obstacles and accomplishments! For me, it has ...
Read More 
Breathing Underwater: A support group for adults living with anxiety
Over the course of 8 sessions, trained counsellors will guide group exercises and discussions to help participants understand ...
Read More 
2022 JFS Board Nominees
JFS Board Nominees DONNA CANTOR holds a Masters in Social Work from Yeshiva University and is a registered ...
Read More 
Let’s talk Housing Issues, Together
On October 20, we held our JFS Housing event at the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House. Presentations from Shelley ...
Read More 
Thank You For Making Project Isaiah A Success!
Thanks to our incredible partnerships with local synagogues, schools, and YOU, over $50,000 and 6,500+ lbs of nutritious ...
Read More 
JFS Annual General Meeting
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Date: Wednesday, November 23rdTime: 1:00PMLocation: Zoom Please register in advance. Once registered, you will ...
Read More 
Make A Meal, Build Community
The Food Security team proudly launched the Community Kitchen program from our very own Kitchen. Naomi Kestenbaum-Evans taught ...
Read More 
Belmont Properties Helps JFS Provide Temporary Housing
“He who saves just one life, saves the world entire.” The Talmud JFS had been working with the ...
Read More 
Participate in our Parent/Caregiver Survey
A few months ago, a group of parents of children and youth with disabilities got together to speak ...
Read More 
September is Hunger Action Month!
It's Hunger Action Month! This is the perfect time to learn more about food insecurity, its impact on ...
Read More 
Healthy City for All Award
JFS receives "Healthy City for All" Award. On May 30th, JFS was honoured with the coveted "Healthy City ...
Read More 
Marc’s Story
In his clean, quiet home in Nanaimo, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, you would never know that ...
Read More 
Bringing Joy and Support to the Holiday Season
If you live on a low-income, access to holiday services and food can be expensive and overwhelming. This ...
Read More 
Crossing Borders to Support the Food Bank
Henry Rosenthal has been delivering food to the JFS Food Bank from Point Roberts, USA, throughout the pandemic. ...
Read More 
Building a food-secure future together
Proper nutrition plays a central part in learning, yet 1 in 8 households in Canada struggle to access ...
Read More 
Rhea’s Story: Courage to Change
It was a year before Rhea* even mentioned the abuse she was experiencing to the counsellors and caseworkers ...
Read More 
What You Should Know About JFS
As JFS' Board Chair, Jody Dales shares what makes JFS special, the importance of valuing our people, and ...
Read More 
Caring for Our Holocaust Survivors
JFS and Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) are pleased to announce a new partnership to serve Greater Vancouver's ...
Read More 
Preparing for Covid-19
By Mara Shnay Sadly with the Omicron variant, many of us will get Covid-19 over the next two ...
Read More 
JFS Covid-19 Safety Plan
JFS is working hard to keep everyone safe and healthy so we can continue to provide services to ...
Read More 
Meet Our New Board Members
We are delighted to welcome Eli Joseph, Madison Slobin and Sherri Wise as new board members at JFS. ...
Read More 
Homelessness in the Jewish Community
Hear Us, We Are Here is a project to bring awareness and understanding to Jewish homelessness in the ...
Read More 
Take Action on Homelessness
What Can I Do? Learn about the causes of homelessness and what it includes eg. living on the ...
Read More 
Experiencing Grief and Loss
Crossing the Bridge: Experiencing Grief and Loss in a Pandemic By Lily Shalev, Senior Outreach Therapist at JFS ...
Read More 
Addiction Counselling Services at JFS
JFS Clients are now able to see Jewish Addiction Community Services (JACS) counsellors at The Kitchen by appointment. ...
Read More 
George’s Story
Before George came to JFS, he was struggling to make ends meet for his growing family. Finding employment ...
Read More 
Moishe’s Farm Retreat
Calling all Jewish young adults! Are you a socially conscious foodie & adventurer? Join us in the heart ...
Read More 
We Are Moving!
Our JFS office move is underway. We will be moving to two new office spaces over the next two months to ...
Read More 
An Outstanding Innovators 2021
Thanks to you, we raised over $270,000 for JFS Innovators 2021! To all of our donors and sponsors who made ...
Read More 
New JFS Van Hits the Road
JFS has been a food security advocate for decades and today is a moment we want to etch ...
Read More 
Thriving Seniors
Connect. Learn. Thrive. We're excited to announce the launch of a new program called Thriving Seniors. This innovative program ...
Read More 
New Food Hub Opens in April 2021
Last night, at our AGM, we shared an exciting announcement. In the spring of 2021, our Food Security ...
Read More 
Client Needs During COVID-19
In this JFS Client Update document compiled and written by the JFS Client Advisory Committee (CAC), we endeavor ...
Read More 
JFS COVID-19: What We Ask of You
What We Ask of You Wash your hands immediately upon entering the JFS building or location or your ...
Read More
JFS COVID-19: Our Commitment to You
Our Commitment to You: JFS staff are being briefed regularly on measures to reduce the risk of infection ...
Read More 
David Discovers the Joy of Music
Thanks to donors, a client on the autism spectrum discovers community through a local drumming circle. David was ...
Read More 
A Family for Every Child
Adoptive Families Association of BC (AFABC) has been dedicated to finding families for children since 1977. This organization ...
Read More 
Q&A: Karen Malone
INNOVATORS 2020 KEYNOTE SPEAKER KAREN MALONE, FOUNDER & CEO, LITPARK Q: As the Founder and CEO of LitPark, ...
Read More 
2018-2019 Annual Report
At JFS, our work is only possible with you. You helped us successfully deliver our programs and services ...
Read More 
Jewish Food Link expands to North Shore
Jewish Family Services has expanded our healthy food program to the North Shore! Jewish Food Link provides healthy ...
Read More 
Hanukkah Helpers
Make this Hanukkah Memorable for a Family in Need Each donor family is reviewed and matched by our ...
Read More
Making healthy food a priority
Increasing Healthy Options at the Jewish Food Bank Jacob knows how important it is to have healthy food. ...
Read More 
Introducing Our New CEO
The Board of Directors of Jewish Family Services (JFS) is delighted to announce the appointment of Tanja Demajo ...
Read More 
Farewell Message from Richard Fruchter
Dear Friends, At the end of August, I am retiring from my position as CEO at Jewish Family ...
Read More 
Housing Position Makes a Difference
Photo Above: Lina (right), Tenant Community Liaison, and Harriet, (left) tending the garden boxes at Dany Guincher's community ...
Read More 
The Power of Community
On May 14, 2019, over 600 people came together at our 15th annual Innovators Lunch to support the ...
Read More 
Jewish Food Security Task Force Report
Read the Jewish Food Security Task Force Report We're very pleased to announce the release of a report ...
Read More 
Building a New Life
Amy looks forward to starting a new life with her daughter. As a JFS client, she is among ...
Read More 
5 Questions with Lane Merrifield
The newest "dragon" to join CBC's hit show Dragons' Den, Lane Merrifield is one of Canada's leading tech ...
Read More 
Helping Mariam Find Meaningful Work
Mariam came to Canada two years ago from Armenia. With her education and experience in administration, she was ...
Read More 
Meet Lane Merrifield
The newest "dragon" to join CBC's hit show Dragons' Den, Lane Merrifield is one of Canada's leading tech ...
Read More 
Lucy’s Story
I am grateful to JFS for so much. I had a major health crisis when I came to ...
Read More JFS Newsletter
Stay in touch with JFS through email news and updates.
"*" indicates required fields