Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova.
As we all gather this morning, in the midst of a meaningful fast and without that morning coffee I know I am missing right now…I have the privilege of talking to you about, what else? Food…and housing, and the basics of the blessings of what it means to have enough…
And thinking about our neighbors and friends who don’t. Continue reading
Five friendly MESH volunteers gathered in the Shomrei kitchen on Tuesday to prepare 50 hearty and tasty meals for our MESH guests. Chef Lynne Kurzweil shopped for the food at Costco, ShopRite and the Fooderie and MESH CoChair Aileen Grossberg stopped at Amazing Savings to stock up on our packing supplies. (When you shop at the Fooderie, please remember to thank Ari from Meat Maven for giving Shomrei a nice discount on chicken drumsticks). Helpers were Susan Rosenblatt, Carole Rothman, Carol Blau and Julie Weinstein.
Chef Aileen Grossberg planned an easy to prepare meal with minimum prep and cooking time. Sous chefs Alex Kent, Lynne Kurzweil , Carole Rothman and new volunteer Julie Weinstein were totally up to the tasks of cutting tomatoes and lettuce, roasting corn, doling out chili sauce and preparing the other parts of the meal until——the ovens wouldn’t work. No gas to the burners.
The Carol Starr MESH Cafe at Shomrei was back in the swing after our summer hiatus. Chef Lynne Kurzweil, along with the pro team of Alex Kent, Joan Zief and Linda Wieseneck, pulled off a splendid feast supplementing ample leftovers from Noa Baird’s bat mitzvah which were graciously donated by Rabbi Julie and Justus. Continue reading
MESH volunteers will be happy to hear that Joe Tyson is back working at MESH at the Bloomfield Avenue site. Volunteers who drop off Shomrei’s prepared meals will undoubtedly be greeted by one of MESH’s Joes – Tyson or Granger.Though it’s been summer and we have not been preparing meals in the Shomrei kitchen, MESH has been the beneficiary of our excess food at kiddushes. The need for food has not decreased. MESH feeds upwards of 75 people 6 nights a week. Continue reading
Everyone who enters our building must have noticed the greening and flowering of our outdoor landscape. This beautiful lifecycle fuels itself, with one season of plants providing nourishment for the next as its foliage decomposes. In the meantime, our flowers provide beautiful decorations for kiddush tables on Shabbat, and the compost from vegetables and fruit used in kiddush prep helps enrich the soil for all of our plants. Continue reading
For this last MESH of the year, cook Sarita Eisenberg and her team of Lou Hammerman and Linda Ariel were joined by Risa Bernstein and Carole Rothman. Menu was our usual barbecue chicken legs and roasted potatoes with a side of salad, cookies and fruit cups.
This week, nine Shomrei teens and almost teens, gave up their Monday night, of the last week of school, to prepare, cook, portion, and bag fifty meals for MESH. Continue reading
Chef Linda Wieseneck planned, shopped and prepared a familiar post Memorial Day BBQ feast along with sous chef Lynne Kurzweil. Additional helpers were seasoned volunteers Alex Kent and Carole Rothman.