UJO Commends Mayor de Blasio and the New York City DOE for Expanding the Free Meals Program to Include a Glatt Kosher Option

Williamsburg Adults and Children will have Available Three Glatt Kosher Meals Starting Tomorrow

UJO Thanks all Elected Officials who Advocated for the Kosher Grab N Go Option

New York – In satiating news for Orthodox Jews, the NYC Department of Education announced today that they will expand the Free Meals Program to provide Glatt Kosher meals meeting the food needs of Orthodox Jews observing kosher diets. The kosher meals will be available at specific sites in areas with larger Orthodox populations. It will be made available first at Williamsburg, and later in the week at other locations. The expansions of the program come after weeks of advocacy by the UJO and other organizations representing Orthodox Jewish communities in NYC.

Yeshivas who run Free Lunch Programs are already doing a great service to the community by offering breakfasts and lunch to children in the community during this crisis, despite being closed. They are feeding tens of thousands of children in Williamsburg and an estimated 100,000 citywide. However, as per the program’s guidelines, their meals can only be offered for minors, and they can only provide two meals a day. Many adults are literally going hungry during this health and economic crisis, while people of all ages didn’t have where to get a kosher dinner, which is the most nutritious and important meal for most.

To ensure that no one – no matter the age or the time of the day – goes hungry, the UJO worked with partner-Jewish organizations on the committee for non-public schools to advocate that the city’s Free Meals Program, that provides three daily meals for all ages, should also provide a Glatt Kosher option.

”Food insecurity is impacting many of our fellow New Yorkers and the DOE is proud to be part of the City’s efforts to give everyone has access to nutritious meals completely free of charge. To date, we’ve served 4.5 million meals and are now proud to offer kosher, halal, and vegetarian meals to meet the needs of our diverse City for the duration of this crisis,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza.

"As a city, we are doing whatever we can to ensure no New Yorker goes hungry during this crisis - and that includes our neighbors with religious dietary needs. We are proud to be able to offer these kosher-certified meals in addition to the halal and vegetarian options already available," said Kathryn Garcia, NYC COVID-19 Food Czar and Department of Sanitation Commissioner.

“Come tomorrow, NYC Department of Education will finally fulfill its stated mission ‘to making three free meals available daily for any New Yorker.’ Literally everyone – from young to old – will be able to pick up three nutritious meals daily We are grateful to Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner and food-czar Kathryn Garcia, and the DOE for understanding the need and for including a Glatt Kosher option, and that the program will start first in Williamsburg tomorrow,” said Rabbi David Niederman, President of the UJO of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn.

“We are also grateful to all elected officials who worked with us to advocate for this vital program, including our dear Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, our Councilman Stephen Levin, and his colleagues Jewish Caucus Chair Chaim Deutsch, Education Chair Mark Treyger, Councilman Kalman Yeger, Councilman Justin Brennan, Borough Park’s Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, and a dear advocate for North Williamsburg and beyond Lincoln Restler. This list just includes those representatives with whom we worked directly on this issue, but many more elected officials advocated for the program and we are grateful for them,” Rabbi Niederman concluded.

Williamsburg residents can pick up the free kosher meals starting:

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21^st

At PS 257 John F Hylan  

60 Cook Street,

Between Manhattan and Graham Avenues

Brooklyn 11206

Starting Wednesday. April 29, 2020, 
there  will be another Kosher Free Meals site, 
at I.S. 113, 300 Willoughby Avenue, 
between Franklin and Kent Avenues

Pickup times for children and families from 7:30 am to 11:30 am, and for adults from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm – but no one will be turned away at any of those times

·        All adults and children can pick up three meals at one time

·        Parents and guardians may pick up meals for their children

·        No registration or ID required

·        Meals will be Under the Volovo Kosher Certication

Kosher meal hubs in other neighborhoods will open on Thursday, April 23rd. For information on other sites, please visit schools.nyc.gov/koshermeals