Preparations Underway for JCRI's Third Annual Drive-Through Sukkah for Refugees

Charlotte Jewish News, September 2022

By Amy Lefkof

“Sukkot is a Jewish holiday that commemorates both the fragile ‘booths’ set up during biblical harvests and the temporary shelters used during the Jewish people’s 40-year migration in the desert following their exodus from Egypt.

“During our celebration of Sukkot, October 9–October 16, the Jewish Community Refugee Initiative recognizes the plight of today’s refugees and asylum seekers who often occupy temporary, precarious housing on their journey to a safe new destination.

“Because Sukkot is a harvest holiday during which we normally sit together in a Sukkah and eat vegetables and fruits that are harvested during this season, we are glad to fill these COVID relief totes with vegetables and fruits and other staples for our refugee neighbors.

“Our faith commands us to welcome the stranger and protect the refugee.”

May we share the bounty of the harvest together.”

The words above are on the note that will be attached to 100 totes that members of the Jewish Community Refugee Initiative (JCRI) will fill with fresh produce, dry goods, and cleaning supplies for refugees here in Charlotte. This is the third consecutive year that JCRI will partner with Refugee Support Services (RSS) to provide a Drive-Through Sukkah for Refugees. The idea originated at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, and given the most recent surge of both COVID and grocery food prices, there is a need once again for members of the Jewish community to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot in this very special way.

Volunteers are needed to box food and kitchen items on Shalom Park under the Poliakoff Pavilion on Tuesday Oct. 11 from 1 to 2:45 p.m. It will be outside in assembly-line fashion, and we will be spaced apart.

Delivery of the totes will be early the following morning, Wednesday, October 12 at RSS’s new location on the grounds of Aldersgate, 3925 Willard Farrow Drive.

RSS executive director, Lindsay LaPlante, explains that the goals of the program “are not only increased access to food and information for program participants but also increased community connection through partnerships and initiatives like this one with JCRI.”

If you are interested in working the assembly line, serving as a food buyer, or helping with delivery of the filled totes to RSS, please contact Amy Lefkof at lefkofamy@gmail.com.

JCRI needs to raise between $700 and $1,000 to purchase the food and kitchen supplies. If you are interested in making a monetary donation, please send a check payable to Temple Beth El (TBE) with JCRI in the memo line. Although JCRI is a Shalom Park-wide social justice initiative, TBE is JCRI’s fiduciary agent.

Photo Caption: JCRI volunteers during Sukkot 2020 form an assembly line to help fill food bags for refugees.