By Anna Gustafson
The Forest Hills Stop & Shop Supermarket made an emergency donation to the Queens Jewish Community Council last week in order to replenish the group’s kosher food pantry that had been almost completely depleted the week before.
The Forest Hills−based QJCC has seen requests for Passover meals at its kosher food pantry double this year and the group could not keep up with the spike in demand. QJCC ran out of provisions March 30 after giving about 1,000 borough families food for Passover, which runs from April 9−16.
“This year is like something we’ve never seen before,” said Cynthia Zalisky, executive director of the QJCC.
About 700 families came for Passover meals at the QJCC’s kosher pantry March 29 and another 300 families arrived on Monday, Zalisky said.
“We could’ve served more on Monday if we had the packages,” Zalisky said.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D−Manhattan), Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D−Middle Village), QJCC President Warren Hecht, Ilene Marcus of The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and Stop & Shop officials picked out food for the pantry at a press event at the Forest Hills supermarket April 1.
The 1,000 pounds the store is sending to the pantry will help to feed more than 1,500 families, Quinn said.
“There are more than 1 million people in the city who will go to sleep tonight and not know if they’ll have enough food to feed their families when they wake up,” Quinn said. “This food means they won’t have to worry about that for Passover.”
Carletta Cantres, Forest Hills Stop & Shop store manager, said the donated food included matzoh, soup, matzoh−ball mix, grape and apple juice, gefilte fish, potatoes and Passover cookies.
The Jewish community has been hit hard by the rough economy, and many individuals who have been fired from jobs in such industries as technology and finance are turning to food pantries for the first time in their lives,” said Rachel Wizenfeld, communications coordinator for the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. This council is providing 55,000 families throughout the city with food this Passover.
“We’ve definitely seen a rise in need,” Wizenfeld said. “In the past, the people we served were on a lower income level, such as new immigrants or seniors on fixed incomes. Now because of the economic downfall, we’re getting new clients who have mortgages and families with children in school. A lot of them see themselves as families who never would have needed to go to a social services organization for help.”
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e−mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 174.
