Founded in 1985, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing and alleviating hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds.
MAZON, which means “food” or “sustenance” in Hebrew, was the first national organization to rally the American Jewish community around the issue of hunger, and remains the only national Jewish organization dedicated exclusively to that same cause. MAZON recognizes the importance of both responding to hungry peoples’ immediate need for nutrition and sustenance and working to develop and advance long-term solutions. We practice and promote a holistic approach to ending hunger, as demonstrated through our three interrelated strategies: advocacy & education, partnership grants and strategic initiatives. This approach symbolizes our desire to embody twin Jewish ideals: tzedakah and tikkun olam.
Over the last 25 years, MAZON has awarded grants totaling more than $58 million to carefully-screened organizations representing the entire spectrum of the nation’s anti-hunger network: from food banks, food pantries, home-delivered meal programs and kosher meal programs to advocacy groups working at the local, state and national level to expand participation in federal food assistance programs and champion responsible government policies that can prevent widespread hunger in the future.
Click here to download our 2011 Annual Report
Click here to download our Fall 2011 Newsletter
Our Mission
- To provide for people who are hungry while at the same time advocating for other ways to end hunger and its causes;
- To educate and raise the consciousness of the Jewish community regarding its obligation to alleviate hunger and its causes; and
- To make donating a portion of the cost of life cycle events (historically at least 3%) to MAZON a permanent tradition in Jewish life.
Support from the Jewish Community & Partner Synagogues
With the support of 1,000+ synagogue and community partners across America, MAZON builds a bridge between the abundance with which many American Jews are blessed and the deprivation suffered by millions of others, both Jews and non-Jews. Read more about synagogue and community partners »
What We Fund
MAZON brings 25 years of effective, strategic grantmaking to the fight to prevent and alleviate hunger in the US and abroad. We award grants between $3 and $4 million to approximately 300 organizations each year. Grants are awarded principally in the United States, though we also support vital hunger-relief efforts in Israel and selected developing nations. Read more about how we distribute our funding ».
View MAZON’s Humanitarian Hunger Relief Project History »
Funding Information for Grantees »
Who We Are
Board of Directors »
Staff »
Financial Information
As a fiscally responsible, fully transparent, IRS-approved not-for-profit agency, MAZON takes great pride in its financial stewardship. Tax ID #22-2624532.
2011 Program and Support Expenses
Our History
Founded on the heels of the Ethiopian famine of 1985, MAZON was conceived as a bridge between the abundance in the Jewish community and the desperate need felt by millions of hungry people around the world. MAZON Founder Leonard Fein recognized the injustice of this disparity – the Jewish community’s annual expenditures on catered celebrations on the one hand, and the devastating Ethiopian famine on the other – and formed MAZON as a response.
Historically, rabbis did not allow celebrations to begin until the community’s poor and hungry people were seated and fed. MAZON offers Jews a symbolic way to observe this tradition by donating a portion of the cost of life-cycle celebrations, such as bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, anniversaries and other joyous occasions, to help feed those who are less fortunate.
Career Opportunities
MAZON does not currently have any open positions.
