I volunteered at the United Synagogue’s food bank and was blown away by colleagues’ kindness

Karen Cowen said she finds the job very rewarding despite never meeting those she is helping (Credit: United Synagogue)[Missing Credit]

The woman who runs the operation is Rachel Trussler. She isn’t Jewish herself but many see her as an honorary member of the tribe, having been involved with the US for years.

“I absolutely love running the food bank,” she told me. “It is just brilliant. We get a lot of help from the team here, and they are absolutely fantastic. They even built all the racking for us.”

Joining the US was a “massive eye opener” for Rachel. “I have never known such a giving community. Jewish people really do look after each other – the money we raise and the generosity is amazing.”

She said that running the food bank was “such a rewarding job. You go home and you know you have helped the people who need it most.”

It was 9.30am, and I asked Rachel when we could expect the first people to turn up to collect their bags. I was surprised to find out this wasn’t going to happen.

“They don’t come here,” she explained. “We send the bags out to synagogues across the country, and they get delivered to people’s homes. It is for confidentiality. It is a very hard subject, and you have to be very careful about people's feelings.

“There are a lot of people who benefit from the service but wouldn’t use it if people knew. They are the people we want to reach out to. There is no shame in using the food bank. We are here to help.”

One volunteer I spoke to was Karen Cowen, a retired nursery nurse from Borehamwood.

I asked Karen if she still gets satisfaction from volunteering, despite never being able to see the people she is helping. “I still do, very much so,” she said. “You are part of the community, and a lot of this goes to the community that I live in.”

Roy Emanuel has been working at the food bank for four years (Credit: United Synagogue)[Missing Credit]

Most weeks see around 200 parcels being given out to those in need, but with Pesach coming up, work is about to get even more intense. More than double the number of parcels are expected to be sent out, and they’re not going to be full of the usual products, but matzah, grape juice and candles.

Karen said: “It is so nice to know that people are still going to be included in the holidays, and they are still going to get to participate and celebrate without having to worry about finding the money to do so.”

A few volunteers do meet the people receiving the food parcels as they are also the delivery drivers. One of them is Roy Emanuel, who retired from his job in telecommunications four years ago and decided he wanted to give something back.

Roy said: “When I retired, I went to my local community and asked if they wanted any help, and they gave me the role here. It is very different to my old career.”

Roy works Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and despite having a bad back, is committed to helping.

“I get satisfaction and a smile,” he said. “I deliver to the community, and I see the smiles on people’s faces. They are very grateful.”

Speaking about why he chose to volunteer in his retirement, he told me: “For years you take, you take, you take. It’s time to give back, give back, give back.”

The warehouse is very well stocked (Credit: United Synagogue)[Missing Credit]

When all the vegetables had been packed, my next job was to help load up one of the cars. Joining me were volunteers Marilyn and Jonny, who showed me the art of how to cram 50 big bags of veg into the boot of a two-door hatchback. "The car is a Tardis,” Jonny explained, as he loaded the bags.

The potatoes aren’t light; neither are the onions nor the oranges, and it was pretty strenuous work.

Marilyn spoke to me about the importance of the food bank. “We have a lot of people who need it unfortunately. We all do our bit to help. If I can’t be the driver one week, someone else will step in to take my place. The parcels will always get to the people who need them.”

I was tired by the end of my shift and was looking forward to returning to my normal job – sitting at my desk, writing stories – but despite being tired, I truly felt that sense of satisfaction that the volunteers told me about.

It was nice to know I had played a small part in helping the community. Each bag I packed was one family who wouldn’t have to worry about finding the money to eat that week.

And I was blown away by the generosity of the volunteers. True mensches, all of them.

For more information on the Chesed food bank, email: chesed@theus.org.uk.