Two yeshiva men, from Wshington, D.C. and South Africa, founded the organization 15 years ago in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Their idea was to take leftover food that various schools and the like were planning to throw out, and distribute it to hungry families. But before Pesach (Passover), their program takes on a special twist.
As people all over the city are cleaning for the holiday and making sure to get rid of all non-Kosher for Passover products, they often take the easy way out and simply throw the stuff out. Even unopened boxes of cereal, whole loaves of bread, spaghetti, packages of flour and crackers, and more find their way into the trash. Hasdei Yeshurun's mission statement says: "Wait! Don't throw out your chametz [non-Kosher for Passover food]! Bring it to us - at close to 30 drop-off points throughout the capital - and we'll store it and give it to the needy after the holiday."
During the holiday itself, of course, the food is not allowed to be owned by a Jew - which is the reason why it was about to be thrown out. Before the onset of Passover, Hasdei Yeshurun sells the food, with a proper contract and bill of sale, to a non-Jew. After the holiday, according to accepted custom, the organization either buys it back for a nominal fee, or the sale is canceled retroactively for lack of fulfillment of one of the conditions.
Last year, Hasdei Yeshurun was able to help some 200 families after Passover, and it appears that this number will be surpassed this year. The food is kept in a large cellar, as well as in individual shelves of family freezers throughout the organizers' neighborhood - making for a very complex logistical operation both before and after Passover.
Families are asked to bring their chametz to one of many drop-off points throughout the city, in Har Nof, Geulah, Bayit Vegan, Ramot Eshkol, Kiryat Moshe, and elsewhere. Volunteer drivers and shleppers [food carriers] are needed as well. For more information, call (in Israel) 052-686-4819.
For those who have no chametz pick-up program nearby and who would like to sell their chametz, you may appoint an emissary to carry out the sale by clicking here.
As people all over the city are cleaning for the holiday and making sure to get rid of all non-Kosher for Passover products, they often take the easy way out and simply throw the stuff out. Even unopened boxes of cereal, whole loaves of bread, spaghetti, packages of flour and crackers, and more find their way into the trash. Hasdei Yeshurun's mission statement says: "Wait! Don't throw out your chametz [non-Kosher for Passover food]! Bring it to us - at close to 30 drop-off points throughout the capital - and we'll store it and give it to the needy after the holiday."
During the holiday itself, of course, the food is not allowed to be owned by a Jew - which is the reason why it was about to be thrown out. Before the onset of Passover, Hasdei Yeshurun sells the food, with a proper contract and bill of sale, to a non-Jew. After the holiday, according to accepted custom, the organization either buys it back for a nominal fee, or the sale is canceled retroactively for lack of fulfillment of one of the conditions.
Last year, Hasdei Yeshurun was able to help some 200 families after Passover, and it appears that this number will be surpassed this year. The food is kept in a large cellar, as well as in individual shelves of family freezers throughout the organizers' neighborhood - making for a very complex logistical operation both before and after Passover.
Families are asked to bring their chametz to one of many drop-off points throughout the city, in Har Nof, Geulah, Bayit Vegan, Ramot Eshkol, Kiryat Moshe, and elsewhere. Volunteer drivers and shleppers [food carriers] are needed as well. For more information, call (in Israel) 052-686-4819.
For those who have no chametz pick-up program nearby and who would like to sell their chametz, you may appoint an emissary to carry out the sale by clicking here.