Masbia, cookbook author Naomi Ross ask the public for help to feed the needy.

(Courtesy of Masbia) Large amounts of emergency food, including ingredients to make Chanukah latkes for 5,000 families are distributed by Masbia Soup Kitchen Network. While high-end food costs are starting to come down, poor people’s food—or basic household ingredients—is still going up. The cost of ingredients to make latkes, such as potatoes, eggs and oil, are up more than 300% from last year.

Thousands of families get raw food ingredients from Masbia every week through the digital breadline by using the Plentiful app or through the DoorDash delivery system. Masbia also serves hot, ready-to-eat dinners at all of its three locations every evening.

“We are in urgent need of resources,” said Alexander Rapaport, executive director of Masbia Soup Kitchen Network. “The high cost of food is making it extremely challenging for us to keep up with demand. I am asking everyone to keep Masbia in mind this giving season to help replenish the depleted food inventory.

“It wasn’t too long ago when a dozen eggs, a 5-pound bag of potatoes, and a 96-ounce jug of oil cost $7 or less. Now you’re lucky if you can get it for $25,” Rapaport continued. “That means more families struggle to pay for food. It also means it is harder for Masbia as an organization to stock up on those supplies in the time when the need has risen.”

To help with fundraising, chef and cookbook author Naomi Ross is offering “The Giving Table” cookbook to people who make generous donations to Masbia. She has been volunteering to help feed the needy at Masbia for many years, and her work with Masbia is featured in the cookbook itself.

“In the cookbook I mentioned how People magazine described Masbia as ‘a restaurant without a cash register’ and that dinners are served restaurant-style by dedicated volunteers,” Ross said. “At the same time, Masbia also runs a massive logistical operation and large-scale food distribution center that goes through roughly 50,000 pounds of food each week, giving families raw food ingredients to be cooked at home. Thousands of families in need get food at Masbia every week. Hundreds of people in need get dinner at Masbia every day.”

To learn more about Masbia Soup Kitchen Network and Naomi Ross’s cookbook offer, go to www.masbia.org/givingtable