Volunteers at Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York (JFS), filled approximately 300 Passover gift bags on Tuesday, April 1, at the organization’s office 184 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany. The bags were filled with traditional Passover fare, matzot, macaroons, grape juice, and a Haggadah and a paper seder plate. Literature about Passover and JFS was also included in each bag.

The bags will be distributed to Jewish residents living at home or in area adult care facilities, and for Holocaust survivors, primarily from the former Soviet Union, the week prior to the holiday. Organizers said that 160 bags will go to Jewish residents in care facilities; 30 to JFS kosher home delivery meal recipients, 20 to Holocaust survivors and the rest to homebound older adults throughout the region.

JFS serves Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga counties.

The holiday bag initiative is part of the JFS Chaplaincy Program, which has been in existence for several decades. Management of the program has rotated between JFS and the Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY. Oversight of the chaplaincy program was returned to JFS in 2021, which then launched the holiday bag initiative.

The initiative this year was funded in part by Dr. Ed and Laura Jacobs and Rabbi Dr. Moshe E. and Rochel Bomzer.