QUESTION

One of the local Reform shuls here runs a wonderful food pantry. They partner with a local organization and mainly serve non-Jews.

Our communities are very connected, and people from our shul volunteer there and donate food items. Can people donate chametz there before Pesach? I reached out to their Rabbi, but I’m not even sure what we would require, if anything. (Meaning does the shul own the chametz?)

Also, no one has asked me this, but I was curious: Can one volunteer there over Pesach?

ANSWER

The question is, as you note, who really owns the food in the food pantry.

One might have suggested that all of the chametz donated is hefker (ownerless). However, I wonder if this is that is indeed the case? Can anyone take the food? Is it open at all hours and free to all, or does it get locked up each night? Let’s say two people come in and are fighting over who got the can of tomatoes first. Do they fight it out, or do the people running the pantry have the right to arbitrate and decide?

If the food had caused harm, could the organization theoretically be liable? If it were really hefker, then the organization would not be in a position to adjudicate a dispute or bear responsibility. (Also, if it were hefker, one would not receive a tax receipt for donating it.) It seems much more likely that the organization is koneh (acquires) the food and then distributes it, and not that it is truly ownerless.

If it’s not considered hefker, who, then, is the owner?

If it is a non-Jewish organization, then there is no problem.

If it is owned by the Reform shul, then it’s more tricky. Selling a Jew chametz before Pesach that he will likely not get rid of by the time Pesach arrives is not, technically, lifnei iver. This is because he could, in theory, consume it, or he could purchase chametz elsewhere, etc. However, it could likely fall into the category of michshol.

In that case, I think my question would be about turnover. If the large majority of food is, say, taken within the week, then I think you could donate it up to a week before Pesach. I also would not have any problem donating things that only have trace chametz or kitniyot (as there is no prohibition of deriving benefit (issur hana’ah) from kitniyot, and any trace chametz that was nullified in a liquid mixture prior to Pesach is not a problem – see Rema Orach Chaim 453:1, and 447:4).

As to volunteering, it is permissible to be around chametz you don’t own if safeguards are taken to make sure you don’t accidentally eat from it. Say, for example, a non-Jewish worker who comes into your house with his chametz. As long as it is on his person, it is fine. If it is being stored, however, it needs to be in a designated and marked-off space. (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 440:2-3)

In the context of wrapped, packaged foods owned not by an individual but by an organization, and clearly intended for someone else, one could argue that this is permitted. However, I believe that this is a stretch, not just because it doesn’t fully satisfy the formal requirements detailed above (on the non-Jewish person or behind a mechitza, designated, etc.), but also because sometimes it isn’t true. If I were a volunteer handing out wrapped granola bars at a food pantry, then I’m technically not allowed to snack on one. That being said, it is not unrealistic that I might come to do so, particularly if I were hungry and rationalized that I would just make a donation later that would cover it.

On the other hand, by contrast, if I am a cashier at a supermarket, I can continue to work there over Pesach because the store’s merchandise is clearly off-limits, and I could get into serious trouble if I were found taking from it.

So, it really depends on the circumstances, but I think it is best to avoid volunteering there on Pesach.