Thousands will have to rely on food parcels this Pesach

FOOD PARCELS will be distributed to thousands of vulnerable people this Pesach and beyond as the United Synagogue Chesed (welfare) department said they had witnessed a “dramatic” rise in the number of Jewish families asking for support.

The charity’s synagogue volunteers have delivered 6,962 food parcels to people in need over the past 12 months, and a recent match-funding campaign raised over £500,000 needed to run the service over Pesach and in the coming year

Around 600 families used to rely on the food parcels provided by the United Synagogue at Pesach, while this year and last, the number is around 800.

One beneficiary of US Chesed’s weekly food parcels is Esther Elmkies, 39, from Edgware. She moved to the area in December 2021 and receives the parcels through her shul, Ahavat Yisrael.

She told the JC that the parcel delivery had been a “massive, massive” source of support to her and her seven children aged between four and 15, two of whom have special needs, as she relies entirely on benefits.

She said: “With the cost-of-living-crisis as it is, to get these weekly packages eases the pressure on me financially, eases the pressure on me emotionally and eases the pressure on me all around. To buy a pack of cheese for a family of my size is big money, but I get that in my bag each week.”

Michelle Minsky, head of Chesed at the United Synagogue, said US Chesed helped people every day of the year.

She said: “In addition to our essential food parcels, our volunteers call or visit elderly people living alone or help them with shopping, as well as providing bereavement befriending, organising meal rotas or simply being a friend.”

She added that the cost-of-living crisis had “not gone away despite falling inflation, and thousands of people still rely on us for financial, practical and emotional help”.

In the meantime, some 1,600 families in Stamford Hill’s Chasidic community are also being supported with food parcels and vouchers this Pesach, overseen by the Jewish Community Council (JCC), a community organisation based in Stamford Hill.

Children going to sleep hungry in his community is a “red line” for JCC director Levi Shapiro, who told the JC: “Our fundraising and food distribution efforts have been a great success over the years, but at the same time, demand is only increasing. Even if both parents are employed, with so many costs around Pesach, combined with household expenses and the costof-living crisis, many Chasidic families, who often have eight children or more, struggle to make ends meet.”

The JCC is working with local kashrut food suppliers.