Brooklyn, NY – Hoping to be able to serve a greater number of individuals who are having difficulty making ends meet, the Masbia Soup Kitchen network is reaching out to synagogues and yeshivos in Brooklyn and Queens, offering group appointments that will provide greater convenience and dignity to those in need.
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The idea to invite clients to come to Masbia’s three locations in Borough Park, Flatbush and Queens in groups, instead of as individuals, was one that Masbia founder Alexander Rapaport had been considering for a while.
But the launch of a new software system that simplified Masbia’s internal operations and allowed for private appointments had Rapaport putting his plan into play at all of Masbia’s client choice food pantries.
“As a community, we aren’t so good at keeping exact appointments, but giving people a window of time where they can come in as part of a group provided the flexibility they needed,” Rapaport told VIN News. “What we wanted to avoid was the long lines that we have had where people could be waiting outside for an hour or more to get their food which can be very demeaning.
Now people come in with members of their group during their assigned time slot instead of getting stuck on a line where they could be competing against an entire zip code.”
Rapaport acknowledged that there might be those who would prefer not to pick up food in a room full of their peers, but that most enjoy the camaraderie which minimizes the stigma of coming to a food pantry. Masbia’s food pantries will continue their regular Thursday morning operations at all three locations.
In addition to having groups coming from shuls and yeshivos, Rapaport said that the Flatbush Masbia site has a group of single mothers, while the Borough Park location has a group of families of six or more. Having gotten five groups at each of the Brooklyn locations on his own, Masbia attracted two more groups after being given an opportunity to announce its new initiative at a Flatbush JCC meeting held last week.
Rapaport has also reached out to several synagogues in Queens in an effort to attract groups to that location as well.
“So far we have moved the pendulum and have many more people coming in with this new system, so we are excited to be announcing it on a larger scale,” said Rapaport. “There are so many families who are struggling financially and we look forward to being able to help as many people as we can in the Jewish community at Masbia.”
MOST PEOPLE EATING OR TAKING HOME FOOD FROM MASBIA ARE NONE JEWS. LESS THEN 10% ARE JEWS. RARELY DO YOU A JEW GOING IN THERE.
I can confirm that 90% of the people eating or getting “Shabbos” packages at the Flatbush locations are not Jewish, mainly Chinese, Latino and Muslim I kid you not, giving Masbia is NOT maser. Its just a feel good position for Rapoport.
if only one single hungry jew is fed by masbia its all worth it
perhaps your all missing the boat 10% are jewish why close down the operation should those 10 % not have what to eat ?? your all forgetting the issue of
איבא besides if they are getting govt funding they arent able to legally turn anyone away regardless of their religion
What is the total budget for the Masbia Org?
What is the Total Salary paid out to the Executive Director?
Why is this operation still open after the Met Council debacle considering it was a partnership?
Why is Met Council still open after WR debacle?
Why are the rich people in our community not helping the poor with cash?
Why are we utilizing 1930s style soup kitchens in 2018?
So many Mega Millionaires and Billionaires in BP, FB, Queens, and LW, why a need for soup kitchens???????????????????????
Who and what is really behind the Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry network across America??????????????????????????????
Why do foundations and nonprofits associated with food charity have a leftist bent and focus on “sustainability”????????????????????????????????
As per guide star there are 5 separate Masbia entities with separate EINs.
1. Masbia Brooklyn
2.Masbia Queens
3.Masbia Flatbush
4.Masbia Williamsburg
5. Masbia Borough Park
According to Form 990 highest paid officer in 2016 for Masbia Brooklyn was AR who received base salary of $162,523 – within line of typical non profit executive directors and much less than WR was getting from Met Council not including skimming. Total gross receipts from all 5 seems to be about 3.8 million. Don’t know how much is spent on food, employees,rent, and “OVERHEAD”.
Given the comments above, I feel compelled to state, that a number of years ago, when I was going through a very difficult financial crisis, I went to Masbia for dinners. I was always treated with dignity and am forever grateful that Masbia was there in my time of need.
I give credit to Masbia; when Hurricane Sandy struck NYC a few years ago, many parts of Brooklyn and the rest of NYC were either flooded or blacked out for days on end. Masbia fed many hungry people at that time, of all races and religions. I take my hat off to them. I protest against those self serving holier than thou hypocrites, who protested the fact that 90% of the food goes to gentiles. What was it their business? Charity extends to all, both Jew and non-Jew. It is a great mitzvah to feed hungry people, no matter what their religious affiliation is!!
Based on most of the above comments, especially psychotic #14 which somehow mentions me, I can see why so many people hate Jews. The alt-yidden are blatantly racist bigots who can’t see helping another soul, or understanding anything “foreign” to them, which is almost everything, including America.
Who and what is really behind the Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry network across America??????????????????????????????
Why do foundations and nonprofits associated with food charity have a leftist bent and focus on “sustainability”????????????????????????????????
Ever hear of the United Nations Plan, Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development?
The entire notion of modern day soup kitchens, food pantries, food banks and so on has nothing to do with charity and alleviating poverty. It is about creating dependence and control over the population and getting them to subsist on handouts and live in subservience as part of the eugenics agenda. This is partly why the clarion call is “alleviating hunger” rather than “ending poverty”. They do not want to end poverty and the welfare state. They want you to learn how to live on very little in order to help “conserve” the resources of the earth, which are under threat from an ever expanding “population explosion” of people. Another linguistic sleight of hand creation of the left is “Food Insecurity” together with “Social Justice”. The food charity industry in the US is part of the socialist agenda of the Left and the Democratic party.