Two try Food Stamp Challenge at high holidays

Addressing the needs of the hungry fits into the tenets of their faith.

By LINDA M. LINONIS

VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR

YOUNGSTOWN — In Judaism, the highest form of charity is preventing the situation that causes the need in the first place.

That’s why Bonnie Deutsch Burdman and Helene Sinnreich of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Youngstown Area Jewish Federation are taking the national Food Stamp Challenge.

“The challenge is designed to call attention to the inadequacy of the food stamp benefit and to galvanize support around a strong reauthorization of the nutrition title of the 2007 Farm Bill currently on the floor of the U.S. Senate,” Burdman said.

Burdman said the challenge fits into their faith. “Some of the basic tenets of Judaism are tzedekah, doing the right thing; tikkunolum, repairing the world; and tzedek, showing love and kindness,” she said. “Being an advocate for those in need is part of our religious mandate,” said Burdman, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Burdman and Sinnreich went grocery shopping Tuesday to participate in the Food Stamp Challenge and promote the High Holiday Food Drive. They didn’t use real food stamps at Union Square Sparkle Market on Gypsy Lane, but the cash equivalent. If they were on the assistance program, each would have $21 to buy food for one week.

“We eat out frequently. With three children, we’re going five different directions; it’s more convenient to eat out,” Burdman said, noting the food stamp project would indeed be a challenge for her. Her family isn’t involved in the project.

“I generally eat out two meals a day, lunch and dinner, on campus,” said Sinnreich, a JCRC board member and professor of Judaic and Holocaust studies at Youngstown State University.

What’s planned

They will follow through on the challenge during the week roughly from Rosh Hashana, which begins at sundown tonight, through Yom Kippur, Sept. 21. The High Holiday food drive, held in conjunction with the observances, focuses on feeding the hungry locally.

Burdman, married and a mother of three, and Sinnreich, single, decided to pool their money, $42, to stretch their resources. They spent $37.90.

“It’s difficult to make healthy choices,” Burdman said. She pointed out low-fat meats and whole wheat breads and pastas were more expensive.

“I think it’s hard to do solo,” Sinnreich said.

A family’s budget would be bigger and allow for some leeway in buying staples.

Armed with a list, the two women went up and down the grocery store aisles, calculating the best buys and checking out sales.

When Burdman spotted a 3-ounce piece of salmon priced at $4.59 and way out of their budget, she shared a family story. “My grandparents grew up during the Depression, so when they served lox [cured salmon], bagels and cream cheese, bits of lox were on the bagel. My parents followed that tradition,” she said.

Years ago, when she was in graduate school, she went to a restaurant with friends and ordered lox and bagels. “It came with a heap of smoked salmon,” she recalled. “It made me think about how my grandparents made the lox last a long time,” she said, and how the economic climate of the time affected their habits.

Kosher

Neither woman said she keeps kosher (complying with kashrut, Jewish law in the Torah that stipulates what foods Jews may and may not eat and how foods must be prepared) but said doing so on a limited budget would be even harder.

“We’re inadvertently keeping kosher because we can’t afford meat,” Sinnreich said. They did, however, manage to buy small packages of chicken and beef.

Both women also noted that people on special diets for medical reasons and religious restrictions face an even greater challenge. For example, Sinnreich said she is lactose intolerant and the alternative is more expensive than regular milk. “Some ethnic groups have certain food intolerances,” she said, noting shopping on a limited budget would curtail choices even further.

Sinnreich said she checked out a couple Web sites on the food stamp program to get some help. “I found them inadequate,” she said about the information to use food stamps wisely to prepare good meals.