The kosher community sent large shipments of foods to Houston and South Florida in the aftermath of devastating hurricanes that hit those communities. Later in the year, Masbia, a New York based network of soup kitchens, organized shipments of food to the stricken in Puerto Rico.
Within days after Hurricane Harvey devastated many Jewish areas in Houston, stories of a massive response by the kosher community emerged. In recent days, Kosher Today learned of several heroic efforts in the aftermath of the hurricane. One particular fact that was not widely known was that all three kosher caterers in Dallas joined forces to produce a startling 33,000 meals for the Houston kosher community. The three, Simcha Kosher Catering, Texas Kosher BBQ, and Taste of the World, who often compete against one another, became symbols of an unprecedented unity to come to the rescue of the Jewish Community of Houston. Many of the rabbis in Dallas were also credited with having taken a lead role in organizing the relief effort. Rabbi Sholey Klein of the Dallas Vaad Hakashrus (Dallas Kosher) was singled out for his around the clock coordination of the effort. “The caterers were pretty much the army in the trenches doing whatever was needed,” commented one Dallas Jewish community leaders. Simcha Kosher Catering provided kosher meals to the 5 different synagogues, learning centers and the Jewish Community so devastated from Hurricane Harvey. Each of the other caterers also prepared thousands of meals for different parts of the kosher community in what turned out to be an incredible show of unity.
Reprinted from Kosher today