Kosher MRE

KOSHER MEALS NOW AVAILABLE TO U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS

After five years of negotiations with the Office of the Chief of Army
Chaplains, launched in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, the U.S.
Department of Defense has announced that fully kosher meals are now
available to members of the United States Armed Forces.

Several varieties of kosher MRE (Meals-Ready-To-Eat) field rations may
now be ordered utilizing federal service supply numbers. The
introduction of kosher MRE's into the military supply system was largely
due to the efforts of Rabbi David Lapp, Director of the JWB Jewish
Chaplains Council, an agency of the JCC Association of North America.
Rabbi Lapp worked closely with Air Force Chaplain Cecil Richardson, and
with Army Chaplains Herman Keizer and Lorraine Potter of the Armed
Forces Chaplains Board.

Noting that over 5,000 Jewish personnel were called to serve during the
Gulf War, the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council requested that the Armed
Forces Chaplains Board and the three Chiefs of Chaplains establish
procedures for the procurement of kosher MRE's.

Previously, service members were responsible to procure their own kosher
arrangements, a task that was often difficult and at times not possible.
Since World War I, the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council has sent cases of
kosher feed and kosher for Passover kits to active duty Jewish chaplains.

At one point, the U.S. Army tried to introduce a kosher certified
vegetarian entree, but the unified position taken by the Chaplains,
representing all branches of the Rabbinate, convinced the military
decision makes that only a completely kosher meal offering would meet
the requirement.

According to Rabbi Lapp, "This major accommodation will allow any active
duty service member to request a variety of Kosher meals through their
regular channels, thereby making such meals accessible to military
personnel stationed throughout the globe."

May Anne Jackson, President of "My Own Meals," a Deerfield,
Illinois-based provider of kosher refrigeration- free meals and MRE's,
lauded the exceptional efforts of Marine Chaplain Joel D. Newman of Camp
Pendleton, CA; Army Chaplains Martin Applebaum, formerly of Ft. Belvoir,
VA, Ben Romer of West Point, and Chana Timoner of Ft. Bragg, NC; Navy
Chaplain James Apple of Camp LeJeune, NC; and Air Force Chaplain Joel
Schwartzman, of Bolling AFB, DC, who persistently emphasized that a
fully kosher ration was absolutely essential to meet the dietary needs
of Jewish personnel.

Founded in 1917, JWB Chaplains council is the U.S. government-accredited
agency designated to help meet religious and morale needs of Jewish
military personnel, their families and hospitalized veterans. It
provides full support services to Jewish chaplains, administers
ecclesiastical approval for chaplain candidates and Jewish lay leaders
in the military, and provides religious supplies and counsel to the
military and VA communities. JWB Chaplains Council is part of the Jewish
Community Centers Association of North America, with offices in New
York, Los Angeles and Israel.