Connecticut

Jewish Families Look Elsewhere for Passover Food During Stop & Shop Strike

Local Jewish families that won’t cross the picket line at open stores are scrambling to find all the special food they need for the holiday.

The eve of the eight day Passover holiday comes on the eighth day of the Stop & Shop workers’ strike.

Local Jewish families that won’t cross the picket line at open stores are scrambling to find all the special food they need for the holiday.

“We didn’t shop early enough,” Stacey Wyner from Woodbridge said. “We waited not knowing there was going to be a strike.”

Wyner said her family had to go out of town looking for Kosher for Passover food.

“We had to travel a little bit farther this year to get out food, down to Stamford at Fairway,” she said.

She also picked up some last minute items Thursday afternoon at the Westville Kosher Market.

“Yes, it was busier because usually my customers who buy the vegetables and stuff they cannot find here, they go to Stop & Shop,” co-owner Rachel Hamenachem. “They came here and we needed to help them.”

During Passover, observant Jews do not eat bread and there are related dietary restrictions.

“It’s a huge inconvenience for me,” said Chaya Manning from Woodbridge. “But that’s more important and I don’t want to cross there line.”

Manning said she is relying on her mother from New Jersey to help prepare for the holiday.

“And I sent her to the supermarket there and she’s going to bring stuff,” she said, “but she’s 83-years old so she’s got to shlep stuff so I’m trying to make do with less than I normally would.”

Inside the Amity Stop and Shop, which carries one of the largest Passover food selections in Connecticut, the display appeared to be almost fully stocked Thursday afternoon.

“We’re wondering what’s happening with all the food in there and what they’re going to do with it cause once the Passover is over no one wants to eat any of that food,” Wyner said.

Stop & Shop released the following statement on the strike Thursday:

"Negotiations are continuing with the five UFCW local unions. Our primary goal remains to get our associates back to work with a contract that has pay increases for all associates, continued health benefits for eligible associates and increased pension contributions. We remain focused on getting back to fully serving our customers every day."

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