On Wednesday, Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic nominee for New York City mayor Eric Adams joined Met Council on Jewish Poverty to distribute emergency kosher food at the Flatbush Community Fund food pantry ahead of Rosh Hashanah. As the need continues to grow to all-time highs, Met Council launched America’s largest kosher food distribution, more than doubling its high holiday food delivery to over 1.34 million pounds to help those struggling to afford their basic staples, as well as the items that are essential for welcoming the Jewish New Year with dignity and joy. The increase in food came via an emergency grant from UJA-Federation of New York.
Adams joined dozens of volunteers in Flatbush on Wednesday to take part in the largest free kosher food distribution in America. Three hundred and sixty local families were provided with fresh, kosher food packages at the Flatbush distribution and, by the time the high holiday is here, 154,000 New Yorkers in need will have received food from one of 127 locations in Borough Park, Flatbush, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and other locations across the five boroughs. In partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, Met Council will provide tens of thousands of jars of honey and hundreds of thousands of pounds of fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish and glatt kosher chicken and beef to Jewish New Yorkers.
“Eric Adams has long been a champion for the underprivileged. He’s a great friend to Met Council and our mission to serve the neediest and we are thrilled that he could join us to help bring food to those in need,” said David G. Greenfield, CEO of Met Council “Too many New Yorkers are still hungry, and Met Council is here to help them with nutritious and culturally appropriate meals. The last year and a half was very challenging, but we’re determined to make sure everyone who wants a holiday meal can get one. Met Council is going to work around the clock to help feed over 154,000 New Yorkers across the five boroughs before the Rosh Hashanah holiday next week.”
“I really want to thank the Flatbush Community Fund and David Greenfield and Met Council for giving people dinner with dignity. Just because you are in need of assistance, you should not be treated in an undignified fashion,” said Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President and the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. “How Met Council has evolved in the delivery of food to people is something that I believe the city needs to adapt. The digital food pantry should not only be here, but every pantry should move to the next level of how we view and treat people in need with dignity. I really want to thank Met Council, thank this amazing organization, Flatbush Community Fund, and all the volunteers who are here.”
“We are very pleased to partner with Met Council to help Jewish New Yorkers celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Far too many in our community suffer from food insecurity, and we hope this extra support will bring happiness and comfort to many families during the Jewish New Year,” said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York.
“The fresh, kosher food that went home with Flatbush families today will mean a healthy, happy holiday for so many of our neighbors. Distributions like this would be impossible to pull off without Met Council and we deeply appreciate all they have done for the people of Flatbush,” said Yitzy Weinberg, executive director of the Flatbush Community Fund. “Thanks to Eric Adams, Met Council, and all the volunteers who showed up today to chip in ahead of the high holidays. Helping neighbors in need makes the whole community stronger and it was inspiring to see everyone show up for Flatbush on Wednesday.”
“Hunger skyrocketed last year and even as New York City recovers, we sadly still see far too many struggling in the Jewish communities we serve. We wanted to ensure families and struggling New Yorkers had everything they needed for Rosh Hashanah so they could enter the new year with at least one less thing to worry about,” said Jessica Chait, Met Council’s managing director of food programs.