This year’s Ramaz “Esther’s Ball” Purim party was full of female empowerment and Jewish pride, and the positive impact didn’t end there. The Ramaz Fresh Opportunities food recovery club organized a chesed component to the party: attendees helped package meals that were then donated to community fridges. This club, and the entire Fresh Opportunities organization, were founded by Maya P. ‘25 after she noticed the large number of unhoused people on her way home and saw Ramaz discard its perfectly good excess lunch food on Fridays. Since its founding, the organization has donated over 10,400 meals, and as of its packing initiative at Esther’s Ball, the Ramaz chapter has officially passed 7,000 donated meals. Kol hakavod to everyone in the club, including chapter leaders Maya P., Bianca S. ‘25, and Keren T. ‘25.

Fresh Opportunities works with public schools, such as Bard and West End Secondary, to run sandwich-making events, and they have mentored students at independent schools like Chapin, Browning, Dalton, Leffell, and Fieldston, to help them start food recovery/ food-packing clubs at their schools. The organization has mentored students at 10 schools to take action against food insecurity in New York City by donating food to community fridges. As part of its goal to provide long-term support beyond food relief, Fresh Opportunities has partnered with Learn to Be to promote free tutoring for children in families who rely on community fridges. The link to access free tutoring is now included with every meal donated. Fresh Opportunities has also received funding from the Hershey Heartwarming Project grant and Riley’s Way Call for Kindness Fellowship, which included attending the Call for Kindness Summit in Nashville, and these grants have helped expand the organization’s impact, earning national recognition