Passover, one of the holiest holidays on the Jewish calendar and one centered around a home-cooked meal, is typically the busiest time of year for Alex Rapaport. He’s the executive director of the Masbia, a string of kosher soup kitchens and food pantries around New York City.
Significant food shortages are part of the package. Plague. It’s hell on earth. It just takes a little longer to boil before burning.
Bless the grocers, for they are lifesavers.
Here in Chicago, the need has skyrocketed, which means more food warehousing space is needed. For volunteer social-distance safety, that space needs to be BIG.
Enter the United Center, the now-empty home of the Black Hawks and Bulls.
Amen. HEB in Texas is well prepared and organized, and I understand they are raising the pay for their workers. Good citizens.
I always let the workers know they are appreciated. If anyone deserves that “thank you for your service” line, it is grocery store clerks.
Sadly Covid19 has become the great equalizer.
New York - alone - had 505 deaths today.
US had 1,046 TODAY.
5,099 US deaths total.
Heckuva job, Clownie!
This is just another sign of how disorganized the federal government is…they should be putting food aid out, making sure there isn’t hoarding or that the commercial operators don’t suck up all the food, and managing the entire food chain in the nation. Instead, our current, underfunded charity organizations are going to get slammed with needy people, and have to scramble to try to meet that need. And, in states where the safety net is frayed, that need may not be met, and some people may starve or succumb to disease.
None of this, none of it, would have happened under Obama, either Bush, either Clinton, Carter, Ford…even Nixon and Reagan would have stepped up (the latter was fine letting gays die due to AIDS but he wouldn’t have let that happen here). Trump and the current crop of Republicans care so little for the average American that they made no plans, and did nothing when confronted with a possible emergency, and the end result will be more dead Americans that from any event since WW2 (and we don’t know yet if it may actually surpass even that number). The only question I have is if enough Americans learn the lesson to reject Republicans and their selfishness.
Okay, this sooo works for me. Well played indeed.If there was such a thing as “TPM Gold”, you’d have earned it here…
“Passover, one of the holiest holidays on the Jewish calendar and one centered around home-cooked meals…”
I’ve saved a single matzoh from our dwindling rations, along with a chicken neck, a month-old boiled egg, the dregs of a horseradish jar, a desiccated piece of celery, a sad-looking date (for haroset), an orange from the tree in our back yard, and what’s left of the vermouth bottle – so we are gonna be swingin’ come Pesach!
We’ll be dipping in saltwater from our own tears this year.
And hoping the Angel of Death passes over our house.
Maybe not that great - the wealthy can afford to self-isolate, pay minions to do their grocery shopping, buy wholesale in bulk. People at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, particularly those who normally make their living on hourly wages or piecework pay doing labor that requires their presence in person and can’t be done over the phone or Internet, are the ones bearing most of the hardship.
An excellent editorial and I am thankful you posted it.
Stay safe @irasdad
Are you kidding? I posted that last month.
I weep.
Ouch. Okay, cheer up - you get the imaginary TPM Gold, as well! 
This from a man who posted some time back that his humor was unappreciated. sigh.
A few of us volunteer at the anderson hotel food pantry in san luis obispo, ca. It’s every sunday and we’ve been doing this for years. Now the housing authority has quashed our use of the empty dining hall, and mandated bagged to door delivery.
Passover. I didn’t make that connexion until right now. I’m not celebrating anything, except for being alive. My brother observes Lent as a southern Baptist to eastern Orthodox convert. We all have the same prayers this year.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry reading your post. Neither reaction comes easy anyway.
By the description, I’d say it’s about time you cleaned that fridge. That’s an attempt at laughing.
I might just put lamb’s blood on my doorpost this year, just as an added precaution. If Elijah does come in he better be wearing gloves and a surgical mask if he wants to imbibe on that extra cup of wine.
ETA: Actually my family wants to do our seder this year on Zoom. I had no idea what the fuck that was until I asked my son who tells me its video conferencing. I’m not having a seder via video conferencing. I mean, really? I’d rather eat my bread of affliction in misery like G-d had intended. Freedom, my ass. And yes, in every generation there is a Pharaoh. His name is tRump.
