Visitors to the Capital Kosher Pantry in Silver Spring usually find aisles stocked with fresh produce, canned food and dried goods, along with a large freezer of frozen items – much like in a typical grocery store.
Now, with Passover approaching, the shelves are also packed with items specifically for honoring the holiday – with more in outdoor storage units – as pantry officials prepare to distribute 16 tons of kosher-for-Passover food to patrons.
During a tour of the Colesville Road facility on Monday, pantry operations director Stephanie Savir underscored the importance of the holiday food, especially for Jews who strictly follow religious traditions. Passover, which will take place from April 12 to 20, is one of the most significant holidays on the Jewish calendar and commemorates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
“If we did not have enough kosher-for-Passover food, a lot of people would not eat,” she said during the tour attended by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and other local officials.
The food pantry at 9601 Colesville Road offers free, kosher food options for patrons who meet eligibility requirements and is one of many programs run by Yad Yahuda of Greater Washington, a nonprofit organization serving as a “safety net” for the area’s Jewish community.
During the tour, Elrich said he was impressed with the pantry’s grocery store format, which aims to give people a choice in the food they receive, rather than a prepackaged box of food.
“In the traditional thing we do, you’re getting a box. The boxes are fine. It’s a good thing to do, but it’s not necessarily what everybody wants. This is the opportunity to [select] the things that you want and that you think are best for how you eat,” Elrich said. “So, it was really good to see that.”
For many Jewish families, eating certain foods during Passover “isn’t a dietary preference,” said Annmarie Hart-Bookbinder, director of the Montgomery County Food Council, who attended the tour. Because the food restrictions are “a requirement, there are people who otherwise wouldn’t eat” if the pantry options weren’t available, she said.
The pantry has purchased various kosher-for-Passover food options, meaning they don’t include grains that have risen or fermented. Foods avoided during the holiday include breads, pastas and baked goods. Jewish families may practice holiday traditions differently, with levels of observance ranging from more relaxed to extremely strict.
Savir said the pantry has significantly more food for Passover than it normally stocks because families in need may not be able to access kosher-for-Passover items anywhere else. The pantry has trucks and storage units outside to accommodate the extra food.
Savir noted the pantry also has 1,500 dozen eggs for people to pick up before the holiday begins. Eggs are a staple in Passover cooking because they can be used with potato starch as an alternative to flour, grains and leavening agents in making cakes and other foods.
To receive food from the pantry, local residents must complete a vetting process online to verify they financially qualify for assistance, according to volunteer Naomi Carmel. Those who are approved can make confidential appointments to come into the pantry and select groceries. They can also come to the pantry with organized groups.
During the eight-day holiday, the pantry also will help 265 local households, providing “substantial” food baskets to last families throughout Passover, according to Yad Yehuda.
Year-round service
Although the pantry’s current focus is on Passover, it is open year-round, offering kosher produce, meat, dairy, eggs, cereals, pastas, snacks and more. It is the only strictly kosher pantry in the state, according to Savir.
She emphasized the pantry caters a lot of its food selections to children because the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARM) program in public schools doesn’t offer kosher food.
“We try to have here breakfast and lunch foods that kids like,” Savir said.
Nechemia Mond, founder of Yad Yehuda, said Elrich and the Montgomery County government have offered the organization assistance to help expand its efforts to combat food insecurity in the community.
He said Elrich visited the pantry in its former location in Silver Spring a few years ago and “really, after that visit, he advocated and helped us really acquire this facility that we’re in today,” Mond said. “So, we really look at that visit as a real pivotal point in the organization’s history.”
Savir said the pantry purchases most of the food it offers. The pantry receives funding and food donations from organizations and entities including the Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience, Mayberg Foundation, Orthodox Union, Network for Kindness, Capital Area Food Bank, Kemp Mill Synagogue and Shalom Kosher Supermarket.
The pantry has a shed outside the building where people can drop off donations of non-perishable food and personal care items. There are other drop-off locations in Silver Spring at Kemp Mill Synagogue, Shalom Kosher Market and Young Israel Shomrai Emunah, as well as one in Rockville at Moti’s Market.
On its website, the pantry also has wish lists of items that can be purchased at Amazon, Target and Walmart. Donors can purchase the items online and request they be shipped directly to the pantry. Community members can also donate money to the pantry online.
Mond said he attributes the success of the food pantry to the generosity of the community, including the 50-plus volunteers who dedicate their time and resources.
“Most of the resources that we need, the manpower, is really just the amazing community individuals coming in with a desire to help somebody else,” Mond said. “And that’s allowed the organization to blossom and to grow.”
