Why Is This Night Different From All Others?

From “Confronting Poverty,” an initiative of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA; www.jewishpublicaffairs.org)

With Passover rapidly approaching, memories of sitting around the Seder table eating matzah and reliving the story of the Israelite’s exodus from Egypt come to mind. For many, Passover is an unpleasant holiday because of the seven day ban on leavened foods. Some people will complain that there is not enough food to eat and as a result of this challenge some choose not to observe that component of the holiday while others observe it grudgingly with the knowledge that at the end of the seven days their normal diet awaits. On the other side are people who look forward each year to cleaning their kitchens of all of the leavened products that have been occupying their shelves, making holiday foods like Charoset (a mixture of nuts and spices) and matzah ball soup. Regardless of one’s view, Passover does heighten one’s sensitivities to food. Special kosher for Passover recipes become a topic of conversation, as does all of the foods that can not be eaten. With food on the brain it seems an appropriate time to think about hunger insecurity in America.

Since 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been using data from surveys on food security, conducted annually by the Census Bureau, to estimate the number of households in the U.S. that are food insecure.  The survey has been determined as a reliable indicator of household well-being and is used to evaluate the government’s progress in reducing food insecurity.  According to the USDA, the 2004 Census data revealed that in 2004 11.9 percent of all U.S. households were labeled "food insecure" because of lack of resources. Since 1999, food insecurity has increased by 3 million households, including 1.4 million households with children. In 2004, 38.2 million people lived in households experiencing food insecurity, compared to 33.6 million in 2001 and 31 million in 1999.

Food insecurity is broken down into two categories:  households that are not financially able to access a sufficient diet at all times in the past 12 months and households where one or more members experienced hunger due to lack of financial resources at some point in the past 12 months.  Of the 13.5 million households that were labeled food insecure, 4.4 million suffered from food insecurity that was so severe that USDA's very conservative measure classified them as "hungry."

Federal nutrition programs play a crucial role in the fight for food security, but high levels of hunger and food insecurity in this country point to inadequate accessibility to programs like food stamps, child nutrition programs, and TANF. For example, research has proven that Food Stamps play "a positive role in preventing food insecurity." However, currently less than half of low income people who are eligible for the Food Stamp Program actually enroll.  That translates into roughly 16 million low income people losing out on Food Stamp Benefits. Another successful program, the supplemental food program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a cost-effective federally funded preventive nutrition program that provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, and access to health care to low-income pregnant women, new mothers, and infants and children at nutritional risk. Because WIC is not an entitlement program every year it must be appropriated by Congress, where deficit reducing measures have resulted in cuts to the program.

It is worthwhile to note another significant commandment related to the observance of Passover “and you shall teach your children.” The emphasis placed on understanding our heritage and teaching our children signifies that until we each understand what it was like to be a slave we will not be able to understand what it means to be a free person.  The actual Passover story begins before the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptian Pharaoh. It began with Joseph’s discovery that he had the ability to interpret dreams.  This led him to be confronted by the Pharaoh’s dreams of fat cows being eaten by skinny cows, which he correctly predicted as prophesizing seven years of abundance to be followed by seven years of scarcity. That insight allowed them to store food during the years of plenty so that they would have food during the years of famine, a famine in Canaan which caused Jacob and his extended family to join Joseph in Egypt. The theme of food in the Passover story continues with the food insecurity that the Israelites faced as slaves in Egypt. Lastly, when Pharaoh finally agrees to free the Jewish people are so afraid that he will change his mind that they leave without giving their bread enough time to raise, creating matzah. 

Among the many lessons that we can learn from the Passover story, perhaps the most important is the obligation to others that comes with freedom. Matzah is referred to as the bread of affliction and we should be reminded that while we were once slaves who knew hunger but are now free, there are still people in this country without any food on their tables. Over the next two weeks we should all feel challenged to engage in two actions: First, while cleaning out your kitchens this year consider donating your leavened products to a local food shelter or other charity that can put them to good use. Second, urge your legislators to oppose any cuts to entitlement programs, like Food Stamps and WIC, which help food insecure households.  This Passover when we read in the Hagadah “whoever is hungry let them come and eat” let us remember our responsibility to help those in our communities who may not always have enough food.

For further information, contact Sarina Fogel at (202) 789-2222, ext. 102 or by email at sfogel@thejcpa.org.