Diaper Bank at Beth Shalom Now Open at TBS

Diaper Bank To Open at Area Synagogue
It wasn’t until Gloria Max, the Director of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler County visited Palm Coast’s Temple Beth Shalom and told how sad it was to see a young girl excited about receiving toilet paper from the program’s food bank, that the reality began to set it. Then, synagogue members spoke of a mother who was seen taking a diaper off her infant, emptying the solids and putting it back on! “It was an ‘Aha!‘ moment,“ said Rabbi Merrill Shapiro. “We quickly learned that Food Stamps and associated programs do not cover non-food items such as toilet paper and diapers!“
“How can we go to bed at night in a town where there are parents who are putting their children to bed in a re-used diaper?” a group at Temple Beth Shalom asked themselves and others. After reading about Diaper Banks in Time Magazine, the question became “Why not here?” Following an excited and positive response from a local mother’s group, the collection process began and the Diaper Bank at Beth Shalom began.
Some veteran mothers at Beth Shalom suggested cloth diapers but poor mothers rarely have their own washing machines or access to Laundromats. Further, babies sitting longer in dirty diapers get more rashes and cry. Crying can lead to shorter tempers and child abuse. Day-care centers require parents to provide their own diapers, and without day-care, some mothers can’t work.
The Diaper Bank at Beth Shalom has been established to ensure that families living in poverty have and adequate supply of diapers for their infants and toddlers and to raise community awareness that anti-poverty programs must add diapers under their definitions of “basic human needs.”


Donations of diapers began flowing in to the Diaper Bank in the synagogue’s facility at 40 Wellington Drive in Palm Coast. When nearly 1000 diapers of all sizes were collected, the announcement went out to mother’s groups and others that diapers are available to recipients of food stamps, participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, WIC or similar programs. Other applicants will be reviewed on an individual basis.
Diapers are available for distribution by appointment by calling 386-445-3006 or at the synagogue on Wednesdays from 1 until 3 p.m. Donations of diapers are accepted anytime. Cash donations will be used for the purchase of diapers. The Diaper Bank is run entirely by volunteers. Temple Beth Shalom provides the space for storage and distribution of the diapers and the charitable status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 c 3. Thus, contributions may be tax-deductible, consultation with a qualified tax advisor is highly recommended!