Bridging the Seasons: A New ESSENtials Summer Shabbat Distribution
By Chana Laila
Office Manager & Development Assistant
Thanks to generous support from the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Western Massachusetts (JEF), and in collaboration with Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts (JFS), Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts (RTWM) proudly launched our first-ever Summer Shabbat distribution on July 16, 2025. This timely initiative bridges the longer 3-month gap in the Jewish holiday cycle between Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah, ensuring families enrolled in our ESSENtials Kosher Food Purchase Program remain supported and nourished year-round.
Our ESSENtials purchase program serves many who are home-bound and/or have limited access to kosher food resources with distributions of holiday food staples throughout the year, in conjunction with the Jewish holiday cycle. For our new Summer Shabbat distribution, RTWM distributed nearly 1,000 pounds of kosher food to 40 food-insecure families and seniors located across Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, with the help of nine dedicated RTWM volunteers. Each household received thoughtfully selected staples—challah, kosher ground meat and chicken, lox, chickpeas, rice, oranges, grape juice, chicken broth, matzo ball mix, and babka—to sustain a complete and meaningful Shabbat experience.
The Need Behind the Numbers
In 2025, RTWM’s ESSENtials distributions are more critical than ever, and we have grown to meet the need with 7 holiday distributions planned for this year, up from 5 in 2023. A 2024 study by Jewish Federations of North America, in collaboration with Brandeis University and the Weinberg Foundation, found that nearly 19% of U.S. Jewish households struggle to make ends meet—2% report they cannot meet basic needs, and another 17% are just getting by. Financial vulnerability is widespread, especially affecting households with children, single-parent families, seniors, LGBTQ+ individuals, Orthodox communities, people of color, and those with health challenges. Jewish households often face unique food access challenges, including dietary restrictions and community participation costs. The launch of our new Summer Shabbat distribution ensures no season leaves households without access to kosher food and allows us to support families who might otherwise go without.
In Massachusetts, food insecurity rates have been climbing sharply. By September 2024, approximately 18.4% of all households reported food insecurity, approaching pandemic-era highs. Alarmingly, a 2025 report from Mass General Brigham and the Greater Boston Food Bank shows 37% of MA households faced food insecurity—up from 34% in 2023 and nearly double the 19% rate in 2019. In rural counties like Franklin and Hampshire counties, as many as 1 in 2 households report food insecurity. Our work meets a growing need: nearly 2 million Massachusetts adults—over one third of residents—struggle with food access.
Gratitude and Forward Momentum
We are immensely grateful to JEF and our other supporters for enabling the important expansion of our ESSENtials purchase program, and to JFS for our consistent and thriving collaboration in addressing food insecurity for kosher households. We are also grateful to the Berezin family for ESSENtials Passover distribution, and Susan and Bill Firestone for their support of the ESSENtials program. As food insecurity continues to rise nationwide and across Massachusetts, RTWM remains committed to sustaining consistent access to kosher food through our ESSENtials purchase program.