By Matt Levine
Historically, every February 12th (Jack & Eleanor Borden’s wedding anniversary), NFESH awards kosher meal grants through the Jack & Eleanor Borden Memorial Fund. Last year, with so much need exacerbated by COVID, NFESH focused the Borden Fund Grants on holocaust survivors. More than just nutrition support, this NFESH grant supported mental health and anti-isolation programming. Nutritious food is just one part of keeping our elders healthy and happy.
No one deserves that more than our “bubbies” and “zaidies” who survived the horrors of the holocaust.This year, those horrors seem to be shifting from our memories to our daily consciousness. There are too many Jews in this country who are scared for their lives, feel belittled because of their religious beliefs, or threatened because of how they look. All of a sudden viscious anti-semitism isn’t just something our parents and grandparents dealt with in Europe in the mid 1900s. Anti-semitism has become a VERY real, and harrowing, part of daily American life.
Just as Jewish senior hunger is something that we just can’t stand for, anti-semitism is a scourge that must be eliminated. Jack Borden reminded his daughter Enid to “not forget the Jews” when she began her work battling senior hunger. She responded by creating the kosher meal fund in her parents’ names. These days, with these new threats, “not forgetting the Jews” takes on new meaning.This year, through the Borden Memorial Fund, NFESH made a significant donation to the AntiDefamation League (ADL). We chose the ADL because of its tireless work as “a global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry…ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.”
NFESH has not forgotten about the nutritional needs of our Jewish seniors. And our goal is to get back to awarding kosher meal grants to those who provide meals to seniors. But while an existential threat to Jewish elders continues to grow, NFESH will donate money and raise our voices to ensure that NEVER FORGET means NEVER FORGET.
Jews in this country cannot and will not take freedom and tolerance for granted. NFESH will do as we’ve always done. We will fight for civil rights for ALL who are being denied. Thank you to the ADL for the wonderful work it does on all of our behalf and thank you to all of the Borden Fund donors who made this donation possible.Don’t worry, Jack. We’ll never forget the Jews!
