Tradition goes on. Modesto synagogue members serve meals to first responders on Christmas
Continuing a 17-year tradition, members of Modesto’s Congregation Beth Shalom are making meals and taking them to first responders on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Congregation members will deliver meals to those working during the holiday at Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall, Stanislaus Regional 911, the Modesto Fire Department, the Modesto Police Department and the the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center.
They expect to serve between 250 and 300 meals, which include lasagna, salad, garlic bread and desserts.
When it began this event, the congregation at first thought of feeding the homeless, spokeswoman Joyce Gandelman said, but decided against that because the Sherwood Avenue synagogue isn’t in an area unhoused people could reach without busing.
Someone else suggested they help first responders and they decided to make meals for them during the Christmas holiday in 2007.
“This is not charity. We want to give back and make a world a better place to live and maybe we can do that by giving our first reponders a meal on Christmas,” said Gandelman, who is helping to prepare meals at the synagogue.
This story was originally published December 24, 2024 at 4:07 PM.
