The Citymeals Blog

Passover is normally a time to gather together and celebrate – but with the Coronavirus outbreak, many families won't be able to celebrate Passover together. For our Jewish meal recipients, many having outlived family and friends, this time of year can be especially isolating.

Thankfully, our homebound elderly neighbors can remain connected to the traditions they hold dear with our Passover boxes. Each package is filled with Kosher for Passover foods like poached salmon, beef brisket, stuffed cabbage, matzo, macaroons and grape juice – the equivalent of eight shelf-stable meals.

Our Passover meals are important to older New Yorkers like 96-year-old Renée, who remembers a time when food was dangerously scarce and practicing her faith was impossible. After the Nazis marched on France, she and her husband Charles fled to Switzerland where they hid in an elderly woman's home. They often went hungry, she recalls. On rare occasions, Charles would sneak out to the Alps and gather what few vegetables he could find.

"I think I'm very strong to have been through all of this," Renée said. She now lives in the same Queens apartment where she and her husband raised their children, after immigrating to the United States nearly 70 years ago.

This year, in addition to our meal recipients, Citymeals is delivering more than 32,000 Kosher for Passover meals to your frail aged neighbors who typically celebrate at their local senior center. 

"Thank you so much for the Passover meals. I live alone and this is a bright spot at a difficult time," said 76-year-old Karen. In this time of isolation and uncertainty, your support and compassion are deeply appreciated.