City Harvest, New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, announced the launch on Monday of its annual, city-wide Passover Food Drive. The effort works to collect kosher-for-Passover items to support kashrut-observant families during the holiday and through April 13.
With nearly one in five Jewish households in New York City living at or near the poverty line, the need for reliable access to kosher food remains significant. City Harvest’s program works to meet this need by providing free, nutritious staple items to Jewish New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity, including during Passover. Since launching the program in 1999, the organization has provided more than 106 million pounds of kosher food to community partners across the city.
This year’s drive arrives at a critical moment, as food-pantry and soup-kitchen visits in New York City are up 89% since 2019. At the same time, New Yorkers are beginning to grapple with major reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Last year, New Yorkers donated more than 6,000 pounds of shelf-stable items to City Harvest through the drive, which was delivered for free to its partner kosher-food pantries.
City Harvest is calling on New Yorkers to join the effort and donate shelf-stable, kosher-for-Passover food items to help ensure that families have what they need to celebrate the eight-day holiday that begins on the evening of April 1. The most-needed items include tuna, salmon, sardines, gefilte fish, grape juice, cooking oil and matzah.
Schools, synagogues and local businesses are invited to hold their own in-person drives. Individuals can also participate virtually by running an online Passover Food Drive.
