MAZON Statements

This week, Members of Congress and anti-hunger advocates alike gathered on Capitol Hill for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger’s 16th annual National Hunger Seder. The event served as an opportunity to celebrate the upcoming Passover holiday while calling attention to food insecurity across the nation, with multiple speakers highlighting the importance of protecting our nation’s food safety net in light of ongoing attempts to slash assistance programs that serve millions of Americans.

MAZON Board Chair Carolyn Schwarz Tisdale stated:

“I am deeply grateful for our friends and partners who joined us for this year’s National Hunger Seder, and I am particularly thankful for our champions in Congress who came to speak out against hunger in America. This annual event serves as a unique opportunity to show how our Jewish faith and our values of social justice are intrinsically linked, and this year, we convened at a true inflection point in the fight against hunger. 

“This week, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing about SNAP, which once again revealed deep philosophical divides about who deserves and does not deserve food assistance. And in the next day or so, the House is expected to vote on the budget resolution, which will have grave impacts on safety net programs that we know are essential tools to fight hunger and poverty in our communities. So today, as we say ‘Let all who are hungry come and eat,’ may we turn inspiration from ancient words and traditions into meaningful action to end hunger.”

This year’s National Hunger Seder was cosponsored by the House Hunger Caucus, which is co-chaired by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Tracey Mann (R-KS). The event was also attended by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), alongside MAZON’s partners from the Brookings Institution, Food Research and Action Center, National WIC Association, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Indigenous Food & Agriculture Initiative, Interfaith Alliance, National Military Family Association, Coalition on Human Needs, Meals on Wheels America, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Blue Star Families, Blue Lotus Strategies, Congressional Equality Caucus, National Farmers Union, UnidosUS, Alliance to End Hunger, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Center for Law and Social Policy, and Bread for the World. 

All Seder participants read from MAZON’s 2025 Hunger Seder Haggadah, which frames the Passover rituals around hunger issues. Leading the Seder was Rabbi Rachel Hersh from the Jewish Social Service Agency alongside MAZON Board Member Len David, and Vice President of Public Affairs Liza Lieberman.

“Cutting SNAP benefits is not only wrong, but immoral,” declared Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), who joined MAZON’s Seder between Rules Committee negotiations about the contentious budget resolution. “Some people refer to budgets as moral documents, and I agree with that. This is about what we believe in, what we value, and I think that the budget we are dealing with is immoral. We live in the richest country in the history of the world and we have 47 million people who are food insecure or hungry. It is a scandal, and every one of us should be ashamed.”

“We have a threat never before faced, an existential crisis for millions of families,” stated Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). “Most years we are around this table together because we want to stand up for people with food insecurity, fight to end hunger, and reflect the Jewish values of tikkun olam, being the voice for the voiceless. MAZON’s work is more essential than ever. Our work together as a collective community is more essential than ever.”

“There are now many Americans, many neighbors, many people who are really struggling with food insecurity,” stated Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). “We need to continue the fight for the direct work of making sure the people who need to be fed are fed.”

“Each year, while the Jewish community comes together to celebrate Passover, MAZON hosts its annual National Hunger Seder to convene policymakers and community leaders fighting to end hunger,” stated Ranking Member on the House Agriculture Committee Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN). “No one should go hungry, and I remain committed to working with organizations like MAZON to ensure every American can put food on the table.”

Each year, MAZON also creates and distributes a Fifth Question to accompany the traditional Four Questions of Passover. This year’s question, “What can we accomplish as a country if 47 million of us were not struggling with hunger?” directly calls out the moral failure of food insecurity in America and stands as a call to action for the public and policymakers alike to tackle the root causes of hunger.

Photos from the National Hunger Seder, including of Members of Congress in attendance, can be found here.

The full suite of MAZON’s Passover materials, including the 2025 Haggadah and Fifth Question, can be found at mazon.org/passover.