Young adult Jewish community builders respond to concerns about food insecurity amidst cost of living crisis

The leading organisation annually engaging over 70,000 young Jewish adults across the world led an education session on Monday about volunteerism and their response to rising food costs and the increased costs of living.

Moishe House provides a model for 20-30-year-olds to create Jewish community where they live.  In return, community builders are provided with rent subsidies, leadership training, Jewish learning, and opportunities to give back to their communities as they gather their peers in innovative ways.

The event was held in collaboration with the London Jewish Forum and attended by members of the London Assembly. The discussion, led by Moishe House Kilburn residents Georgie Friend, Hannah Arnaud, Nina Morris-Evans and Nicole Jacobus, centred around Jewish perspectives on food insecurity which led to a broader conversation on issues effecting society today.

Statutory deputy mayor for London Joanne McCartney attended the event and said: “It was a really interesting discussion and seeing the group grapple with Jewish texts and how they used them to discuss the issues facing society today, it was clear that these young adults share a sense of communal responsibility towards this current and great need.”

Moishe House resident Georgie Friend said, “Food insecurity is one of the defining issues of our generation, especially with the rising cost of living. The area our house is in is often viewed as one of the wealthiest is London, yet so many residents are forced to choose between food for themselves and their family and heating their homes.

“Judaism is, at its heart, a community religion. It’s specifically designed for us to eat together, pray together, live nearby each other, and to provide support for each other. If the pandemic showed us anything, it’s that local communities pulling together can have a huge impact on the lives and wellbeing of our neighbours, and Moishe House is ideally situated to be a part of this.”

Moishe House has had an active presence in the U.K. since 2007. There are currently five Jewish young adult-led communities active in London today, running 379 programmes and reaching 3,362 individuals in the last year.

To find out more about Moishe House, visit www.moishehouse.org