Hinda and David live in Staten Island, where they’re raising their family of six children, all younger than 10. Hinda works as a part-time preschool teacher and David is a rabbinical student receiving a modest stipend. To supplement their meager income and food stamps, several times a year Hinda and David stop by the kosher food pantry at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, a UJA partner.
Every year for Passover the family looks forward to celebrating the holiday with their parents and grandparents in Brooklyn.
This year, because of the coronavirus outbreak, Hinda and David are faced with making a seder and keeping Passover in their own home. Besides the loss of celebrating the holiday in their usual ways, Hinda and David faced the challenge of buying kosher for Passover food.
For help they again turned to the Staten Island JCC food pantry.
The JCC was able to assist the family, thanks to Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, also a UJA partner. Met Council delivered kosher chicken, fish, eggs, grape juice, and other Passover food products to the JCC’s food pantry.
When Hinda and David, and many other families in need at this time, looked for help, they were able to get support during this difficult period — and find a way to make Passover just a little bit easier in these days of the coronavirus crisis.