named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
Digital Recipe Archive
Online collection of Jewish family recipes and oral histories preserving global Jewish culinary traditions
Schmaltzy Podcast
Podcast series exploring Jewish identity, family, and tradition through personal stories centered on food
Shabbat Dinners
Public programs that bring the archive to life through communal Shabbat meals based on traditional recipes
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Host public events centered on Jewish food and storytellingOrganizes and hosts in-person dinners, cooking demonstrations, and live storytelling and tasting events—such as Schmaltzy—for community engagement. These events have run for three years and highlight personal connections to food, family, and Jewish tradition.
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Podcast and Radio Production 1 activity
- Produce multimedia content on Jewish food cultureProduces a podcast called “Schmaltzy” that features stories from the recipe archive and explores food, storytelling, and personal connections in Jewish culture. The podcast includes recorded live storytelling events and follow-up conversations with participants.
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Jewish Textual and Educational Publishing 1 activity
- Publish cookbooks and educational resources on Jewish cuisineDevelops and publishes cookbooks that compile traditional Jewish recipes and personal stories, including the best-selling “The Jewish Holiday Table” and another featuring 135 global family recipes. These publications serve as educational tools to celebrate and transmit culinary heritage.
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Uncategorized 2 activities
- Collect and preserve Jewish family recipes and food storiesBuilds and maintains the largest living archive of Jewish family recipes and associated stories from around the world, currently containing 899 recipes and 319 personal stories. This includes diverse dishes such as gazpacho, avikas, bourekas boyos, biscocho, borekitas, and Chicken with Domate me Oriz.
- Transmit traditional Jewish cooking techniques across generations and geographiesShares and teaches traditional recipes and preparation methods—such as knish-making and baking biscocho and borekitas—to younger family members and across diaspora communities, including in Tel Aviv and Ottawa, ensuring continuity of regional and familial food practices.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$4.99M
Contributions & grants$4.89M98%
Program service revenue$110K2%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$4.73M
Program expenses90%
Admin / overhead9%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$778K
Grants paid out$3.05M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$490K
Cash$427K
Investments$0
Liabilities$64K
Net assets$426K
Liquid reserves1.1 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -1.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 3
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAAMA SHEFI | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $180K |
| YAEL RAVIV | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | 40 | $142K |
| AMANDA DELL | VP PROGRAMS & COMMUNICATION | 40 | $140K |
board members · 8
- ADEENA SUSSMAN — BOARD DIRECTOR
- DEBORAH HOCHBERG — SECRETARY
- MARK REISBAUM — BOARD DIRECTOR
- MICHAEL SOLOMONOV — BOARD DIRECTOR
- SARA BLOOM — TREASURER
- SHARI ARONSON — BOARD DIRECTOR
- STEVEN BOAL — BOARD DIRECTOR
- TERRY KASSEL — CHAIR
relationships · 12
Who they work with
- Adeena Sussman Partner — Serves on the Board of Directors of Jewish Food Society.
- Eater Coalition — Featured 'The Jewish Holiday Table' as one of the best cookbooks of spring 2024.
- Eitan Bernath Partner — Collaborates by sharing family recipes and culinary stories, such as his grandmother's gazpacho, through the organization's platform.
- Goop Coalition — Featured recipes and stories from 'The Jewish Holiday Table'.
- JCC Manhattan Partner — Hosted a live Schmaltzy podcast recording event.
- Jewish Community Center Partner — Hosted gatherings where women from the community prepared traditional foods together.
- Levana Lowenstein Partner — Family member whose culinary traditions and personal story are documented and shared by Jewish Food Society.
- Michael Solomonov Partner — Serves on the Board of Directors of Jewish Food Society.
- Michael Twitty Partner — Collaborates by contributing recipes, such as braised collard greens, to the Jewish Food Society archive.
- New York Times Coalition — Featured 'The Jewish Holiday Table' in a dining section article.
- Smithsonian Magazine Coalition — Recognized 'The Jewish Holiday Table' as one of the best books of 2024.
- Wall Street Journal Partner — Featured in a story about an interfaith family's 4th of July kugel tradition, highlighting shared cultural practices.
strategies · 1
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Cultural Preservation Through Food and Storytellingmethodology: cultural_preservation_through_foodBy collecting and sharing family recipes and personal stories, we preserve Jewish culinary heritage and strengthen cultural identity, because food and narrative are central carriers of intergenerational tradition and belonging.