Staff of Masbia, a New York-based, Orthodox Jewish-run food network, traveled to Jackson, Kentucky, this week, to assist victims of catastrophic flooding in the area.

It’s not the Irish Potato Famine of 1845, Baruch Hashem. But potatoes not making it over the Canadian border this year has knocked the starch out of Pesach preparation.

In the weeks leading up to Pesach, we’re hyper-focused on house cleaning and mishloach manos leftover disposal. Despite being a staple ingredient and indeed standalone meal in many frum households over Pesach due to halachic stringencies as well as for health reasons, one would think that potatoes and potato-specific soil fungus are not the first things on our minds.

But defying the considerations of convenient cooking and matzah-minimal diets, this year these Pesach-friendly carbs may be a bit more expensive than usual.

Several community organizations from Brooklyn teamed up to provide food and necessities for the residents of the building in the Bronx where numerous people were killed and injured by a fire on Sunday.

Read the story below by Reuvain Borchardt, published in The Hamodia, about a desperate voicemail of a manager building asking for help after Hurricane Ida took away all tenants' belongings. Alexander Rapaport, Executive Director of Masbia, felt very touched and brought relief to the needy.

Read the article below written by Reuvain Borchardt in the Straight Talk section in Hamodia. Hamodia speaks with Masbia chef RUBEN DIAZ shortly after he led a delegation of Masbia workers and volunteers marching in New York City’s Hometown Heroes Parade. The parade honored 14 categories of frontline COVID workers, including those who worked in emergency food operations. Masbia has food pantries and soup kitchens in Boro Park, Flatbush, and Forest Hills.

Read the article below written by Laura Allen, published in The Jewish Press and Hamodia, on Masbia feeding nearly 20,000 families during the Passover season via two systems, on-site Passover meals, and massive food distribution. A little pamphlet of Kosher for Passover ground chicken recipes, written by Masbia’s COO, Chef Jordana Hirschel, was included in the distribution to help with some ideas to prepare delicious dishes for Passover.

Read the story below, published in the Hamodia, on Martin Luther King commemoration at Masbia Soup Kitchen with leaders and officials of diverse communities getting together. Pastor Gil Monrose, Felix Ortiz, and Simcha Eichenstein among other Jewish, black, and Hispanic leaders spoke out.