The Katz JCC’s Gourmet Wine and Dine event gives guests a chance to taste food from some of South Jersey’s best chefs.
However, the event feeds more than just the guests who are attending.
In its fifth year, the Wine and Dine raises money to support the JCC’s adult nutrition program, which provides about 20,000 meals annually to adults across the area.
Marcy Lahav, the adult department director at the JCC, said the event provides essential funding to keep the growing program thriving.
“The cost of the program is obviously more than the revenue of the program,” Lahav said.
The program is open to all adults ages 60 or older. The JCC provides participants with a nutritious, kosher meal each weekday from noon until 1 p.m. Adults are asked to pay a suggested $2 fee, but there is no mandatory cost to participate in the program.
The JCC’s nutrition program is the only one in Camden County where the food is cooked on-site. Because of the cooking costs as well as the added cost of making kosher meals, the program runs an annual deficit of approximately $20,000.
“It would be pretty difficult to run the program without the assistance of TD Bank and the Wine and Dine,” Lahav said. “When they’re collapsed together, they ultimately help the bottom line.”
The program is not need-based. Adults of any income are invited to come in for a meal any day of the week. Lahav said about 500 adults participate in the program overall, with the JCC serving anywhere from 50 to 100 people per day.
The focus of this program is not entirely on the food. Lahav said it’s more about seniors eating lunch with others in the community.
“What’s more important than anything about this meal program is the social experience they receive,” Lahav said.
To encourage diners to come to the program regularly and get more involved with JCC programming, entertainment is occasionally brought in. Bands, singers and other entertainers put a show on for diners during selects dates throughout the year.
Participants don’t need to be JCC members to attend. All members of the community are invited, and non-JCC members have the opportunity to try one JCC program for free following their meal.
“The program is there and you only have to be 60-plus,” Lahav said. “It’s a way to meet other people and find out what’s going on at the JCC.”
The Wine and Dine itself is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the nutrition program. Visitors attending the wine and dine will get to feast on a kosher gourmet meal from Nunzio Patruno, owner and executive chef of Nunzio Ristorante Rustico in Collingswood, and Robert Bennett, pastry chef from Classic Cake in Cherry Hill. In addition to a three-course dinner, there will also be cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dessert, live music and a discovery of Jewish heritage.
Tickets for the event are $75 per person. They can be purchased at the JCC’s Adult, Cultural and Judaic Department suite or by contacting Sabrina Spector at (856) 424–4444 ext. 1108 or sspector@jfedsnj.org.
Those who can’t attend the Gourmet Wine and Dine can help the adult nutrition program in another way. Volunteers serve the food daily to help keep the program running.
“Without (the volunteers), I don’t have enough staff to do it,” Lahav said.
For more information on the JCC’s adult nutrition program, contact Lahav at (856) 424–4444 ext. 1247 or email mlahav@jfedsnj.org
