Brick by Brick — We Build Hope | Colel Chabad

In 1788, the same year the American Constitution was ratified, a fund was created to feed the poor of Erit Israel. It has never stopped. Not for war, not for famine, not for 238 years. Brick by brick, person by person, together we rise. Last year, Kal Kabad Soup Kitchen served over 1 million hot meals. 1 million. Enough to fill every seat in a Super Bowl stadium 14 times over. But the real revolution is the food card. 163,866 cards in the hands of the poor, of widows, of the elderly. play them end to end and they run out of deal past Alenhurst, past Aspberry Park, past Bradley Beach, past Belmar, and they don't stop until Spring Lake. 8 and 1/2 miles of food cards. Every one of them a family that shopped with dignity. Last year, those cards were swiped 1,632,686 times. That's 5,219 a day, one every 9 seconds, 6 days a week. And when a father passes away, Minhan Mendel steps in. 1,127 widows, 5,000 orphans. Since October 7th, 131 new families, therapy, tutoring, our mitzvah, weddings, scholarships, every step all the way into adulthood. And none of it happens alone. Pantry Packers turned 13 this year. We had our bar mitzvah. In 1 year, 19,915 volunteers, 25,476 boxes, 190 tons of food, the weight of 74 million Lego bricks. Stack them and they pass the International Space Station. 238 years, 75 programs, thousands of volunteers, millions of acts of hassid. And in the 2 minutes you just watched, seven more families walked out of a store with food. Brick by brick, we rise together.