News and the Jews: Food Insecurity
“Don’t go out! Wash your hands!” It sounds simple.
We have all experienced rapidly-evolving changes to our daily lives. Last week’s directives on the best way to keep ourselves and others safe amidst the novel coronavirus are all old news — just as guidelines from the week before were similarly soon updated. We hardly have a chance to experience the new normal before the next, newer normal arrives.
Most of the conversations and analyses in the news focus on what we ought (not) to be doing. Ilene Prusher’s recent article in the Forward provides a welcome moment to reflect on how those simple instructions have become incredibly complex for all of us. She uses the frame of an outing her husband and children take to a farm where they can pick their own produce. Every step of the way, though, she poses questions about how to manage the complexities of navigating an experience that would have been simple just a few weeks ago. It’s exhausting, and I imagine it’s quite a familiar progression of thoughts and feelings for many of us. This is all new, and we are not alone in feeling overwhelmed as we learn to adapt.
The author is fortunate that she has the means and ability to find food easily for her family. But, her excursion is also an important moment to explore an issue that is quickly becoming dire for many in our country and especially in New Orleans: food insecurity.
During “News and the Jews” tomorrow, we’ll take a look at some of the questions raised by Ilene Prusher’s article. How has COVID-19 changed the way we acquire food? How has need changed? What people are responsible for making our vital systems function, from farms to transportation companies to supermarkets? How are people up and down the supply chain fairing? How does modern Jewish history help us understand food insecurity today?
Join us at noon tomorrow (April 2) for “News and the Jews.” You can find the Zoom link in the TMail from today; or, email Cantor Margolius by 11:45am.