Our Mission
Met Council is America’s largest Jewish charity dedicated to serving the needy. Met Council’s ten different departments are staffed by experts who helped over 305,000 clients in 2020 and continuously advocate on behalf of all needy New Yorkers. Our holistic programs range from 100% affordable housing at 20 locations to our award-winning family violence program to comprehensive Holocaust survivor assistance to senior programming to crisis intervention to the largest free kosher food distribution program in the world. Our network of 101 food pantries, 20 affordable housing sites, and 15 JCCs provide services directly in neighborhoods across New York.
Our History
In 1972, two major academic studies on the growing number of impoverished Jews in New York City were released. They estimated that the number stood at approximately 300,000 people. Today, the number of poor and near-poor in the Jewish community has swelled to over 500,000.
These statistics prompted the formation of the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty, with support from the American Jewish Congress and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York. With funding from the Human Resources Administration, this group selected Rabbi Jack Simcha Cohen as its first Executive Director and Jerome M. Becker as Chair of the organization. United Jewish Council of the East Side and the Concourse Jewish Community Council were established as the first Met Council-affiliated Jewish Community Councils.
Since then, Met Council has continued to grown to the largest Jewish charity in America fighting poverty. Today, Met Council serves over 305,000 clients throughout New York City and surrounding areas. From affordable housing, capacity building initiatives, career services, crisis intervention, and family violence services, to health insurance enrollment assistance, home care programs, home services, immigrant services, and kosher food distribution, Met Council continues to be the voice of New York’s poor and working poor.
Who We Serve
In the fight against poverty, we serve immigrants, seniors living on fixed incomes, the un- and underemployed and anyone else in need. As an organization founded on Jewish values, we serve everyone with dignity and empathy, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion.
How we serve
We use a strengths based approach that empowers our clients to confront their crises. Our caseworkers conduct a thorough assessment with the client to create an effective intervention plan and develop a resolution. Every year, we depend on over 3,700 volunteers to support our staff in ensuring our clients are cared for with respect and dignity.
We leverage government contracts with privately raised funds from individuals and foundations to increase the impact of our services.
Our culturally sensitive professionals provide an array of services to members of insular and immigrant communities utilizing a nuanced understanding of the clients’ community norms to move them from crisis to stability.
Together with our network of local Jewish Community Councils, we serve as the front line of defense for all those in need, providing essential anti-poverty services in all five boroughs.
We maintain a “no wrong door” policy, serving all of a client’s needs, regardless of the point of entry to Met Council. This holistic approach addresses both immediate and lasting needs in a client’s fight against poverty.
Through advocacy and comprehensive social services, we promote awareness of the needs of the more than 500,000 poor and near-poor Jews in New York City.
Key Financial Information and Policies
EIN: 13-2738818