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by Brian Hakimi, October 7, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic was a crisis which had a profound impact on the contemporary world. We have all witnessed the lingering effects of the pandemic on the United States; many stores and restaurants were forced to close their doors, and the cost of basic necessities has dramatically increased—especially for that of food. Naturally, this resulted in an exponential rise regarding the rate of food insecurity in the United States (Kakaei). Although the worst of the pandemic is said to be behind us, its effects on society remain extremely prevalent; many people are still struggling to make ends meet, as the cost of living remains at the elevated state it was placed in by the pandemic. This is reflected in the consumer price index, a principal measure for inflation rates in the United States, which increased exponentially from 2020 to 2021; the CPI skyrocketed from 1.4% to 7.0% in just this one year and it has remained at that level ever since (Hicks). 

Fortunately, the United States government has programs in place to assist people who are struggling with food insecurity. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently runs a federally funded program known as TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), which was designed to provide low-income households with food at no additional cost. TEFAP, along with other government sponsored programs, certainly help many families across the United States put food on the table. However, TEFAP has not been able to help everyone in need of food security assistance as the food they provide cannot be consumed by everyone.

One particular group of people which this applies to are religiously observant Jewish people, who are an ethnoreligious group of people located all around the world. One prominent belief held by Jewish people is that the food they eat must be deemed  “kosher,” which restricts the types of food they are allowed to consume. Unfortunately, TEFAP does not provide many food options that are compliant with Jewish laws, meaning that impoverished Jews struggle to receive the necessary assistance from TEFAP. An article published by the Met Council—a New York based, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing kosher food for families in need—outlines why Jewish communities, as well as other communities that follow dietary restrictions, are in the situation they are currently in; “Our nation’s emergency feeding system is not designed to meet the needs of kosher and halal observant households” (4). The fact that food insecure Jewish communities are unable to receive the proper assistance because the USDA does not provide enough kosher food options is unjust, and it is essential that the USDA provides more kosher food options; not only are Jewish people struggling just as much as everyone else during these unprecedented times, but eating kosher food is extremely important to their cultural identity and an integral aspect of Judaism.

As mentioned before, people who are observant of Judaism are only allowed to eat food that falls under the category of being kosher. In order for a given food item to be considered kosher, it must follow a certain set of dietary regulations. A peer reviewed research paper published by Nature goes into depth on the requirements for food to be considered kosher; this includes the fact that the animal in question must be kosher, the animal must be killed in a certain manner, among other requirements (Mortas et. al). Additionally, it is prohibited under Judaism to consume any food that contains pork or any pig derivatives; any food that is even suspected to have traces of pork or pig derivatives cannot be deemed as kosher, even if every other aspect of the food follows the proper regulations (Mortas et. al). This process is extremely deliberate, and it is of utmost importance to religiously observant people that the food they consume follows these guidelines. In addition to this, a supervising process must take place during the production of kosher food, which contributes to its higher cost; this supervision is conducted by a certified Rabbi, who must be associated with a kosher supervising agency (Mandel). The manner in which the animals are raised and killed also contributes to the escalated cost of kosher food. In order for the animal to be kosher, it must be healthy and treated with care while it is being raised. Furthermore, the blade that is used to kill the animal must be as sharp as possible in order to ensure that the animal is inflicted with the least amount of pain possible (Moshe). These aspects of the production of kosher food naturally result in it being more costly overall, as these supervision and nurturing processes are reflected in the final price of kosher products.

This problem has hit closer to home than ever, as it is something that I am experiencing first-hand in my own life. Over the past couple of years, I have witnessed the price of food in the kosher restaurants in my area skyrocket to levels that I would have never thought were possible. This increased cost is likely due to supply chain issues, meaning that, overall, Jewish people have much less access to kosher food (Hanoka). I feel very fortunate that my family has been able to withstand this extreme rise in the cost of kosher food. However, other families are not as fortunate as mine, as I am seeing first-hand other people in my town feel the effects of this inflation on their cost of living. When taking this into consideration, I can only imagine the difficulties Jewish people in even more impoverished areas must be going through during these difficult times.

Not only is kosher food generally more expensive than non-kosher food, but the pandemic has affected the cost of kosher products to a significantly greater degree than non-kosher products. An article published by The Jewish Chronicle (a Jewish newspaper) estimated that the price of kosher food had increased by roughly 25% in 2022, which is around four times greater than the price increase of non-kosher food. Additionally, the Jewish charity GIFT (Give It Forward Today) has noticed a remarkable increase in the number of Jewish families that require support since the pandemic began, which certainly makes sense when taking the drastic inflation into account (Doherty). The fact that the cost of living for Jewish people has increased to such a ridiculously high degree indicates that food insecure Jewish people require support more than ever, which further proves why the USDA needs to implement more programs and policies that will cater to their needs.

Fortunately, organizations such as the Met Council and GIFT are able to provide a good number of impoverished Jewish families with the support  they need. However, these organizations can only do so much—whether or not this issue can be solved is ultimately up to the federal and state governments since they have the necessary funds and resources to provide food security support to all of the impoverished Jewish families and communities across the nation. If the proper measures are taken by the USDA to cater to the needs of all these people, then the support they provide, along with the support that is provided by these organizations, can help so many struggling Jewish Americans.

Overall, food insecure Jewish people are in desperate need of support. Although the assistance of other organizations would help tremendously, gaining more aid from the USDA would be especially impactful since they are directly linked to the federal government. Since keeping kosher is a fundamental aspect of the cultural and religious identity of Jewish people, for them to disregard this belief would be a major violation of Judaic principles; therefore, eating non-kosher food is simply not an option for the religiously observant families and communities. Additionally, the effect of the pandemic on the general price of kosher food does not make it any easier for these people. On top of the inherently greater costs of kosher food incurred by the supervising process and the fostering of the animals, the price of kosher food was inflated by the pandemic to a far greater degree than non-kosher food; due to this, the cost of living for religiously observant Jews has generally become far more expensive than for non-observant people.

The previously mentioned article published by the Met Council does suggest some potential solutions to this problem. One of the main resolutions suggested by the Met Council is that the USDA should establish an office which is specifically geared towards addressing the dietary needs of these communities. More specifically, the purpose of this office would be to oversee the process of making sure that healthy, culturally compliant food reaches these communities (14). This is an excellent idea, as dedicating a specific subsection of the USDA to address how kosher (or other dietary restricted food) can be made available to low-income families seems to be a very effective and efficient way of helping the problem. The Met Council also revealed that the USDA are simply not familiar enough with the dietary restrictions that are associated with religions such as Judaism, so they typically do not have the right programs to address the needs of these communities (4). Ultimately, the best way to address this crisis on a large scale would be to spread awareness of this issue. This can be accomplished if we all come together as a community and further educate ourselves and others on the beliefs of not just Jewish communities, but all other communities of people who observe some sort of dietary restriction.

Works Cited

Doherty, Rosa. “Jewish Children Going to Bed Hungry in Kosher Cost of Living Crisis.” The Jewish Chronicle, 26 May 2022, https://www.thejc.com/news/news/jewish-children-going-to-bed-hungry-in-kosher-cost-of-living-crisis-4FCckFZ76BNLT5d11POR4K.

Hanoka, Yitzchak. “How Changes to the Supply Chain Affect Kosher Certification.” OK Kosher, 5 Apr. 2022, www.ok.org/article/how-changes-to-the-supply-chain-affect-kosher-certification/.

Hicks, Coryanne. “How Inflation Affects Your Cost of Living.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Feb. 2023, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/inflation-cost-of-living/#:~:text=After%20spending%20more%20than%20two,to%206.5%25%2C%20in%202022.

Kakaei, Hojatollah, et al. “Effect of Covid-19 on Food Security, Hunger, and Food Crisis.” COVID-19 and the Sustainable Development Goals, 22 July 2022, pp. 3–29., https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-91307-2.00005-5.

Mandel, Bethany. “Kosher Food Is Already Expensive and Inconvenient. Now Thanks to Covid, There’s a Lot Less of It.” The Forward, 18 May 2020, https://forward.com/life/446702/kosher-food-is-expensive-and-inconvenient-thanks-to-covid-theres-going-to/.

Mortas, Mustafa, et al. “Adulteration Detection Technologies Used for Halal/Kosher Food Products: An Overview.” Discover Food, vol. 2, no. 1, 20 Apr. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-022-00015-7.

Moshe, Jordan. “Why Kosher Meat Is so Expensive.” Jewish Report, 4 July 2019, https://www.sajr.co.za/why-kosher-meat-is-so-expensive/.Virtual Listening Session on Food Insecurity in Kosher- and Halal-Observant Communities. Met Council, July 2022, https://sbubrooklogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/40df5-whvlreportonfoodinsecurityinkosher-andhalal-observantcommunities.pdf.