Number of Jewish families struggling to make ends meet rises by 20 percent

The United Synagogue has said that the number of Jewish families struggling to make ends meet ahead of Pesach has risen by 20 percent.

The organisation’s Chesed department now supports “well over 700 families” around this time of year, compared to a pre-pandemic average of less than 600, as it cited the “double blow of lost income during Covid and the rising cost of living”.

Pesach food parcels given to families-in-need contain products like grape juice, fruit juice, cheese, tuna, smoked salmon, tea and coffee, jam and butter, salt and pepper, plus chocolate and biscuits. The price of many of these items has skyrocketed.

As inflation hit 6.2 percent this week, the charity said it was “bracing” itself for even greater demand after the holiday, when the energy price cap is removed and fuels costs are expected to rise by more than half.

“US Chesed needs to raise £500,000 to support its work and meet this additional demand,” it said, ahead of an online fundraising campaign on Sunday and Monday, with all donations matched.

“Many we’ve been supporting for two years were already struggling to make ends meet because of the pandemic,” said Michelle Minsky of US Chesed.

“For two years, we’ve been quietly supporting hundreds of Jewish families with a weekly food parcel containing soup, tinned vegetables, pasta and rice, fresh items like cheese and milk and some household items such as toiletries.

“We anticipate an event bigger demand next month when fuel costs are expected to rocket. We need to help hundreds of families this Pesach and beyond.”