Members of Congress, Advocacy Leaders Gather for 17th Annual National Hunger Seder on Capitol Hill
With millions of Americans facing unprecedented threats and cuts to food assistance, Members of Congress, faith leaders, and anti-hunger experts came together on Capitol Hill this week for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger’s 17th annual National Hunger Seder. The event celebrated the upcoming Passover holiday while calling attention to nationwide hunger, with multiple speakers highlighting the importance of protecting Americans’ basic needs.
MAZON President & CEO Abby J. Leibman stated:
“As it has done for nearly two decades, the National Hunger Seder provided an opportunity for leaders in the anti-hunger movement — advocates and elected officials alike — to use the lessons of Passover to strengthen our resolve and renew our commitment to ending hunger. We shared ancient words and rituals that still resonate with hope and bind us together in these challenging times. When we sang Hineh Ma Tov (how good it is to be together), the words set the stage for an experience of warmth, truth, and justice for all those facing hunger in this country. While grounded in the Jewish faith, it was a moment to recall that the different faiths of those gathered around the table echo our own demand that no one go hungry. It will take all of us to make that a reality.”
This year’s National Hunger Seder was hosted in conjunction with the bipartisan House Hunger Caucus, which is co-chaired by Reps. Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Tracey Mann (KS-02). The event was also attended by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Jerrold Nadler (NY-10).
Seder participants, who included several members of MAZON’s Board of Directors and national partners, read from MAZON’s 2026 Hunger Seder Haggadah, which frames the Passover rituals around hunger issues. Alongside Ms. Leibman and MAZON Board Chair Carolyn Schwarz Tisdale, the Seder was led by MAZON Immediate Past Board Chair Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky.
“I appreciate all the advocacy that everyone around this table does to try to end hunger, not only in this country but around the world,” stated Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) while addressing the Seder. “I’m ashamed, quite frankly, that in our country 47 million Americans don’t know where their next meal is gonna come from. That’s a political decision, and we should be ashamed of that. But you give me hope. You keep hope alive, and I appreciate that. Working here, sometimes you feel a little overwhelmed and a little hopeless, and then every once in a while, you get together with people like those around this table and think, we can do this. We can get through this.”
“It is critical that we commit to making other people’s lives better,” stated Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25). “Being very conscious about coming together in this way and speaking the problem out loud helps each of us internalize what a significant problem this is. It cannot be discussed enough how devastating the cuts from that legislation last summer were, and our actions have consequences.”
“This is always a humbling experience for me because it’s just a reminder of how basic this conversation is and how we are all aligned and connected by it,” stated Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05). “It’s your work, your presence at this Seder, and these opportunities are reinforcement, acknowledgement, and encouragement for me as I am sometimes screaming into the wind to make people understand that this is important. But what you all do is help to add color and texture to the picture and remind people that we’re not just talking about spreadsheets and policy papers. We’re talking about real people from every community, in every state, in every congressional district.”
“To be in the capital of the United States of America,” stated Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10), “to be marking Pesach as a community, as a Jewish community, and to be noting the importance that, as Rabbi Hillel said, ‘If not for myself, who will be, but if only for myself, what am I?’, that we are looking beyond and addressing hunger. That any, let alone so many, go hungry is a wound to our soul. And we as a country need to continue to do better so that no one goes hungry, that ‘May all who are hungry come and eat’ not be a statement of Passover but a statement of policy for our country as a whole.”
Each year, MAZON also creates and distributes a Fifth Question to accompany the traditional Four Questions of Passover. This year’s question, “Am I among those working to ensure that all who are hungry can come and eat?”, calls on all of us to take an active role in combating hunger, particularly as an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and hostility towards vulnerable populations has radiated throughout our communities and permeated our daily lives.
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 2026 Haggadah and Fifth Question can be found at mazon.org/passover.