Kosher Food Network Overview

Our goal is to provide a dignified solution to hunger.

America’s Largest Kosher Food Pantry System

Met Council's Kosher Food Network of 40 pantries (and more than 100 pantries for holiday food distributions) is the largest kosher food network in the country.  Met Council’s Kosher Food Network procures and distributes kosher food to our network of kosher food pantries. Additionally we provide ongoing support with reporting, pantry set up and maintenance, advocacy and programming

Met Council works with community organizations throughout the five boroughs, providing enough food for over 7.4 million meals a year. Our partner pantries serve poor and near-poor, food insufficient clients, regardless of their race, faith, ethnicity, sexual identity, or gender.

Digital Choice Food Pantry System

With support from UJA-Federation of NY, new technology is transforming the food pantry system. Met Council's new Digital Choice Food Pantry System, is the first of its kind for a kosher food network to be integrated with a central warehouse inventory system to allow online ordering, and has been developed to serve our wide-ranging, heterogenous clientele.  

The online ordering system allows clients to order food either at the pantry site, or from the convenience of their own home. Clients are able also to select a pick-up time for their food package, making the system work best for them. 

While taking the client's choices and preferences into consideration, the food package orders are also based on the nutritional requirements mandated by New York State and on household size. 

The Digital Choice Food Pantry System is currently being piloted at four sites. 

emergency food cards

The Emergency food Card (EFC) program provides pre-paid credit cards to individuals facing acute emergencies and who need extra support to purchase food. With no identifying features that indicate the card was given as an act of charity, clients are able to utilize their cards as they would any American Express card. 

Whether a client has suddenly lost their job and is struggling to pay their bills or a client whose gradual progression into poverty led them to seek assistance, Met Council’s EFC program provides them with another option to combat the growing problem of food insecurity.