Whenever any Kerem family or schoolteacher find themselves in a situation of need, including a birth, death, sudden or continuing illness in their family etc…they will be able to inform the Chesed Committee, via email, how best they can be assisted. Depending on the situation, the help that can be provided by the Chesed Committee includes kosher meals or grocery shopping delivered to the house, school drop offs or pick ups and playdate rotas. Usually this help can be requested for 1-2 weeks but ongoing needs will also be taken care of to the extent possible. The intention is to centralise the organisation of assistance that is already generously offered by many parents to each other as well as ensure that every family is included.
In order to establish this initiative, we are asking parents who are interested in helping out other Kerem families to put their name forward by emailing keremchesed@gmail.com by Monday 29 April so that we can create a database of Chesed volunteers. All volunteers will be notified each time a Kerem family finds themselves in a situation of need and will have the option to decide when and how they can help. In addition, every parent of the class that the particular Kerem family in need has a child in, will also be informed of the opportunity to help. This is truly a volunteer opportunity that offers complete flexibility, and if you help just one family over the course of the year you will have made a significant contribution towards the work of the Chesed Committee.
The provision of meals will be organised through the website www.takethemameal.com where volunteers will be able to sign up for a meal and specify exactly what they are bringing. Any allergies or particular requirements of the family will be specified on the website.
So as to ensure that a certain level of Kashrut is maintained, we would like to clarify that for our purposes, a “kosher kitchen” is one in which separate dishes, pots and utensils are used for meat and for dairy; a dishwasher is used only for meat or for dairy, not for both; all meat and poultry brought in and consumed are from a kosher butcher or are prepackaged under rabbinic supervision; no non-kosher fish or seafood are brought in; and all packaged and canned foods used are either certified kosher or on the kosher List of the London Bet Din. If you have particular questions or concerns about this, please don’t hesitate to ask them and ready prepared food can always be purchased instead.
We would recommend the following kosher stores that are in or around the area for groceries or ready prepared food:
Dairy
Kings Bakery: 52 Market Place, NW11 6JP; 020 8458 6060
Kays Hampstead: 66 Market Place, NW11 6JP; 0208458 0011
Orly Café Finchley: 108 Regents Park Road N3 3JG; 020 8371 9222
Daniels Bakery: 12-14 Hallswelle Parade NW11 0DL, 020 8455 5826
Meat
Greenspans butchers: 11 Lyttelton Road N2 0DW; 02084557709.
Menachems butchers: 15 Russell Gardens, NW11 9NN; 02082018629
Amors Take Away: 147-151 Golders Green Rd NW11 9BN; 02084587127
The Kosher Deli: 9a Halleswelle Parade NW11 0QS; 02084587933
Manna Deli: 146 Brent Street London NW4 2DR; 020 8201 7575
Grocery stores
Kays Kays Hampstead: 66 Market Place, NW11 6JP; 02084580011
Kosher Kingdom: 7 Golders Green Rd NW11 9NN; 020 8455 1429
Moishes Supermarket/Deli: 1099-1101 Finchley Road, NW11 0QB; 02084553611
We believe that the Chesed initiative will not only be a useful tool to support the Kerem school community but an outstanding way for us to express ourselves; exemplifying to our children how to be considerate of and generous to one another.