Met Council Sets New Yom Tov Food Distribution Record

NEW YORK – Met Council, America’s largest Jewish tzedakah dedicated to fighting poverty, distributed a record 2,016,982 pounds of kosher food to struggling families ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos this year, the largest Rosh Hashanah food distribution ever in America.

From August through September, Met Council worked with 162 partner organizations, including shuls, yeshivahs, and community tzedakah organizations, to provide families with the traditional Yom Tov foods, fresh produce, proteins, and pantry staples needed to make Yom Tov with dignity. More than 15 organizations joined the Yom Tov distribution for the first time this year.

“More than 2 million pounds of food is an extraordinary number and a new record, but this work is not really about pounds. It is about people,” said David G. Greenfield, CEO of Met Council. “Tzedakah means taking responsibility for one another. No family should have to choose between paying a bill and putting food on the table for Yom Tov. Thanks to our partner organizations, volunteers, and supporters, thousands of families across the Jewish people were able to welcome the New Year with the dignity, simchas Yom Tov, and traditional foods that every Jew deserves.”

The distribution included 55,026 bottles of grape juice, 48,384 bottles of honey, and 659,432 pounds of fresh produce. Families also received apples for Rosh Hashanah, chicken, frozen fish, eggs, soup mix, and tea biscuits, along with pantry staples such as canned fruits and vegetables, flour, oil, pasta, rice, beans, and canned fish, all with reliable hashgachah.

Food was distributed through Met Council’s community partners and 13 Market by Met Council sites, part of the largest kosher and halal food pantry network in the country. Met Council’s digital pantry system allows families to select the food that meets their household and dietary needs, so that a family can receive help privately and with kavod.

“I am tremendously proud of our Food Programs team and the 162 organizations that worked around the clock to make this distribution possible,” said Hannah Lupien, Managing Director of Food Programs at Met Council. “Moving more than 2 million pounds of food requires months of planning and enormous coordination, but every delivery came down to one simple goal: making sure families received fresh, nutritious, kosher food in time for Yom Tov.”

More than 500 volunteers joined Met Council staff to sort, pack, and deliver food throughout the campaign, a true community-wide chessed effort. The distribution reached kehillos across New York City and Long Island, as well as New Jersey and Connecticut, and included Met Council’s first Yom Tov distribution in Florida.

The Yom Tov campaign is one part of Met Council’s year-round work to fight hunger in the community.

Through New York’s Social Care Network program, Met Council screens Medicaid members across all five boroughs for food insecurity and other health-related needs. Eligible members can receive kosher food, pantry access, home-safety services, program navigation, and ongoing care management at no cost.

New York City residents with Medicaid who need assistance, or who know someone who may qualify, can call 1-833-633-4450 or visit scn.metcouncil.org. A Met Council staff member will answer, explain the program, and help connect the caller to available services. All calls are handled with complete discretion.

Met Council’s work is rooted in a simple Jewish value: tzedakah is not limited to a single Yom Tov or a single food distribution. It is the continuing achrayus to care for our neighbors, preserve their dignity, and ensure they have the support they need throughout the year.

Founded in 1972, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) has been fighting poverty and supporting struggling New Yorkers, including families living in poverty, immigrants, and the elderly. Its Kosher Food Network is the largest kosher food pantry program in the world, reaching more than 350,000 individuals annually. Its social services division supports more than 34,000 New Yorkers through direct assistance and enrollment in government programs. Met Council’s programs support victims of domestic abuse, the elderly, Holocaust survivors, and the Jewish community’s largest affordable housing network. For more information, please visit metcouncil.org.