Food pantry offers kosher meals to families in Brooklyn

NEW YORK - With delivery trucks always arriving and workers continuously unpacking containers, the Masbia food pantry in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn is always busy offering free kosher meals to anyone in this community. 

City Harvest is helping the pantry with a Passover food drive.

"We know that New York City residents are experiencing food insecurity," said Ellen Granger,  City Harvest's manager of donor relations and supply chain. 

Masbia executive director Alexander Rappaport said families who are food insecure deserve to be able to properly celebrate the Jewish holidays.

"Making sure you have enough food is the basics of being able to celebrate," Rappaport said. "Without food, how do you have a meal? How do you have a family table together?"

The food pantry, which provides kosher meals to needy families all year round, saw a surge in demand when the coronavirus pandemic started. 

"Due to the pandemic, we are operating on a 500% increase in demand, which forced us to go to 24 hours," Rappaport said.

The around-the-clock food pantry even created a digital bread line. Instead of standing in lines that stretch around the block, those in need make a reservation to pick up food day or night. 

"We want to make sure every family has food on the table this holiday," Masbia's David Krakauer said. "It's very important to us." 

Rappaport said Passover is about sharing.

"Passover is about having communal meals," he said. "So this is a vessel of sharing."

One client told FOX 5 NY that she really appreciates the pantry.

"They are great," she said. "I appreciate them so much."