Portland, April 18th, 2013. Six tons of food are headed to the Oregon Food Bank (9,525 meals) thanks to the generosity of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. Marc Blattner, CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater Portland helped Festival co-chairs (and first cousins) Cheryl Tonkin and Ed Tonkin fill barrels with donations for the Oregon Food Bank. (Photo credit, LeeAnn Gauthier)
The Food for Thought Festival opened on Thursday night at the Portland Art Museum with a seriously funny conversation with legendary comedian David Steinberg and Daily Show alum David Javerbaum with The Oregonian’s David Sarasohn asking the “tough” questions.
The group organized a four days community celebration with writers, artists and performers sharing their wisdom and their work at venues across Portland. The benefit, originally conceived by Cheryl Tonkin as the winner of our “Next Great Jewish Idea”contest took over 18 months to plan with scores of volunteers. The festival included 30 dif ferent events and programs throughout the Greater Portland area with over 2,500 participants.
Lisa Schroeder, latke-lover, chef and owner of Mother’s Bistro & Bar enjoy a friendly moment with hamantaschen-fan and debate competitor, Ken Gordon, owner of Kenny & Zukes’s. The Great Latke-Hamantaschen Debate at The Cleaners at the Ace Hotel ended in hilarity . . . and a draw.
The Jewish Federation for Greater Portland funds and supports a community-wide network of organizations that care for people in need here at home, in Israel and around the world. The work of Federation nurtures and sustains the Jewish community today and for future generations.
