They came from everywhere: California, Mexico, Florida, Chile, Israel, and New Jersey and more. They were in all shapes and sizes- some long and thin; others squat and round. Some with no blemishes and others showed a bit of age. Their colors were like a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue as well as tan, brown , black, and white. Continue reading
We had a terrific team preparing, packing and delivering a very hearty and nutritious meal to our MESH guests. Joan Zief and Lynne Kurzweil organized the meal around sumptuous vegan leftovers from Saturday’s kiddish, graciously donated by the Lucey family. Kitchen helpers were Alex Kent and teens Hailey and Jaden.
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The MESH Cafe has evolved considerably in the past three years. Prior to March of 2020, every Tuesday evening from September through June, The Carol Starr MESH Cafe at Shomrei served dinner upstairs in the Gallery to 25-30 food insecure members of the Montclair community. When Covid prohibited in house dining, we provided Grab N Go complete meals which were distributed by MESH staff in a central outdoor location. Starting in 2023 MESH has an indoor location, the site of the former The Office restaurant at 619 Bloomfield Ave., provided through the generosity of the landlord. The doors open at 4:30 pm, meals are served at 5:15 pm and guests can stay and relax until 6:30 pm. The MESH Board has also set up a “MESH Store” where guests can “shop” for clothing and other essentials. The Store is only accepting donations of new items.
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Chef Fern worked her magic once again preparing a Mediterranean feast for 30 MESH guests in her home kitchen. She brought the meal in trays to Shomrei early Tuesday afternoon , all ready to be portioned and packed by Lynne Kurzweil and frequent teen helper, Jaden. The meal included Baked Salmon with lemon garnish and Yogurt Dill Sauce, Israeli Couscous Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and olives, Coleslaw, and Biscuits baked by Collin. Each guest was also given a tangerine, a cupcake, a water bottle and a breakfast bar. Continue reading
It was crunch time in the Shomrei kitchen on Tuesday night as Chef Aileen Grossberg ably assisted by Susan Rosenblatt, Alex Kent and teen Jaden prepared a meal that crunched.
Many thanks to Erin Berman for taking total charge of last week’s kiddush including set up and clean up. She was ably helped on Shabbat by volunteers Lou Hammerman, Sharon Harwich and the Gold family – Amanda, Benjamin, and Abigail – who saw a need and offered their help.
We all live with the contemporary saying “If you see something, say something.”
Let’s apply it to kiddush. “If you see a need to help, help out.”
And don’t forget to plan ahead if you can and use Sign Up Genius on the volunteer page.
