We got a call on the day before Erev Yom Kippur this 2025 about a Jewish summer-camp closing up and they needed to empty their walk-in freezer. It still had plenty of product. They asked if we could come down (it’s about 45 minutes drive) to take it all away. One condition: Everything had to go. The freezer had to be totally emptied and none of it left on camp grounds.
It’s hard to say no to large stocks of Kosher food product these days. Food prices have risen significantly. We serve a lot of food here. So off we went in two minivans to load up.
Now, some of the food wasn’t great, some of it was stuff we’d hardly use. There was just way too much ices (for example) – and in huge bulky commercial containers. But there was plenty of valuable useful food product in that big commercial walk-in freezer. We loaded up two minivans full and headed home. Some of it we tossed, we shared a bunch with some families, and other Chabads, and lots to put to use here at Shabbos House.
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The moral of the story? Life can often be a package deal. It’s the whole freezer. You can’t really pick and choose as much, you have to take it all. That’s the hand you’ve been played. But once you have it, it’s up to you what to do with it. It’s our choice what we keep and what we toss, what we share with others. What we save and what we use right away. That part is our choice.