Local News
Gwen Secter meal delivery program continues to fill vital need in the community – non-Jewish as well as Jewish
By BERNIE BELLAN Ever since the Covid pandemic took hold in Manitoba I’ve been chronicling the amazing efforts emanating from the Gwen Secter Centre to provide services not only to seniors but to many other individuals in need.
Following the first province wide lockdown – which began on March 14, 2020, Meals on Wheels stopped taking new applications for its program for two weeks. Into the breach, however, stepped Becky Chisick, Gwen Secter executive director, along with her two kitchen staff: Galina Melenevska and Cathy Koltowski.
In our April 15, 2020 issue I had reported that the kitchen staff at Gwen Secter had produced 60 meals for Jewish seniors from March 30-April 3, all delivered free of charge.
Then, in our May 13, 2020 issue, I wrote that the staff had increased production of meals to the point where they sent out 194 meals the week of May 4-8.
In our May 27, 2020 issue I wrote about the fantastic job that Galina and Cathy had been doing turning out those meals. Becky Chisick wrote to me back then: “The meal program is going very well. I have hired a part- time volunteer meal program coordinator, Lauren Cogan, to help with the organization of routes, volunteers and clients. She also calls all of the clients twice a week to help continue more personal connections. A HUGE help! We are now delivering over 270 meals weekly. I thought we’d be eventually up to (around) 120 meals!!”
In our July 13, 2020 issue, Becky provided a further update: “We have seen a surge in the need over these past couple of weeks. Last week we sent out over 400 meals and we are still receiving calls. I hope to continue the meal program until we can safely open up for programming. This will of course depend on sourcing additional funding. I am always looking!”
Since then the Gwen Secter meal program has increased its production – to the point where it is now producing 600 meals a week! Unfortunately, while there is a wait list of 60 different individuals who would also like to receive meals, Becky Chisick says the kitchen is simply incapable of producing any more meals.
In recent weeks, I myself have been volunteering to deliver meals for the Gwen Secter Centre, and I’ve been able to obtain a close-up look how efficient the program is – and how grateful recipients of those meals are.
Lauren Cogan is continuing as the meal program co-ordinator, and by now she is being paid for her work (as opposed to last year when she was a volunteer). She has been doing a fantastic job making sure meals are organized for pick-up by volunteers at staggered times on Tuesday and Friday mornings – and, more importantly, that there are enough volunteers available to deliver those meals. (It’s become more of a problem this summer with some volunteers dropping out for various reasons, Lauren says. Altogether there are 30 volunteers needed each day to deliver those 300 meals to an average of 10 households per driver, although some routes have slightly more points of call while others have fewer.)
I e-mailed Becky Chisick to ask her some questions about the meal delivery program. Some of her answers were incorporated into what I’ve already written, but here are some more answers that I asked Becky:
JP&N: “Where is the funding for the program coming from?”
Becky: “The funding is coming from many funding organizations such as the Winnipeg Foundation, The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, United Way, Help Age Canada, New Horizons for Seniors, WRHA and Second Harvest. “
JP&N: “Now, here’s the sticky part: From what I understand you don’t ask recipients whether they’re Jewish. Thus, many of the recipients (I can see from where I’ve been going with meals) aren’t Jewish. But, have you had to turn down Jewish applicants as a result (because it was on a first come – first served basis)?”
Becky: “Once we first hit our capacity everyone went onto our waiting list. I have adjusted the onboarding process so that any community member referred goes directly onto the program, no more wait lists for community referrals.”
JP&N: “I know you told me the meals don’t cost anything for recipients. But surely some of the recipients can afford to pay something. I think you told me that certain meals – that cater to special dietary needs, have a charge attached. Is that right?”
Becky: “No. We adjust to dietary needs as best we can for anyone who needs, at no cost. There are a select few that give the centre a monthly donation of what is affordable to them. Those that can afford to pay order meals or a la carte items from our catering menu.”
JP&N: “But, if you’re not charging for meals, don’t you think that some people are taking advantage when they could well afford to pay something?”
Becky: “We like to think that those that are on the program need assistance in some way. Over 80% have been referred by case workers or managers/seniors resource finders of low income housing. The program is designed on the honour system. You never know what is going on behind closed doors and I’m here to help, not to judge.”
Our Jewish community is not homogenous by any stretch. While some directors of Jewish organizations may think that most Winnipeg Jews are able to escape to their cottages in the summer, that’s hardly the case for a great many members of our community. In the three weeks that I’ve now been delivering meals, I’ve seen firsthand how many members of our community are not able to get out – for various reasons, or they simply have difficulty affording groceries. Between the Gwen Secter’s meal program and what Jewish Child and Family Service is able to do for many of those individuals (and we’ll have more again about JCFS in our next issue), we are fortunate indeed that ours is such a caring community – and that we can count on dedicated individuals such as the staff and volunteers at Gwen Secter and JCFS to attend to the needs of so many individuals.
Local News
New Israeli restaurant opens in River Heights
By BERNIE BELLAN (July 6, 2025) It’s been a long time since our community has been able to welcome the opening of a restaurant that specializes in Israeli food.
That void is now going to be filled with the opening of The Green Falafel, at 1833 Grant (corner of Centennial – next to the Subway).
The restaurant is the fulfillment of a dream long held by the husband and wife team of Ariel and Eden Maudi, who have been living in Winnipeg the past 11 years.
Ariel, who was born in Israel and grew up in Beer Sheva, says that he worked in telecommunications in Ramat Gan for several years. He adds though that he had always dreamed of owning his own falafel stand in Israel, but life was difficult there and he decided to come to Canada as a tourist to see whether there were any opportunities here for him, Eden and their two young children.
Eden, who was born in Russia and moved to Israel with her family in 1996, stayed behind with the two kids, who were both pre-schoolers, while Ariel tested the waters in Canada first.
Ariel says he came to Canada as a tourist in 2013. His first stop was in Toronto, where he acquired his 1st class driver’s license. At the end of 2013 he moved to Winnipeg where he began working as a truck driver. Soon he found himself employed as a successful sales person at Vickar Nissan where, he says, he once achieved the status as the top car sales person in Canada. After working at Vickar Nissan for a number of years, Ariel began working as an installer for Bell MTS.
Meanwhile, Eden began working at a Walmart, later at the Costco on Regent.
But, when the opportunity to move into a space that had been previously occupied by another restaurant, but which had closed, became available, Ariel and Eden decided to open their own Israeli restaurant in an area that hadn’t seen Israeli food served since the controversial closure of Bermax Café in 2019.
The Maudis say that they will be serving a variety of Israeli dishes – all vegetarian, and that they will be fully kosher.
The “green” in Green Falafel, by the way, Ariel Maudi explains, comes from the cilantro and parsley that are added to the chickpeas. In addition, their pitas will be coming from Israel and will be baked fresh daily.
The Green Falafel will be open from 10-8 daily. Delivery will be available through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Call 204-557-7837 for information.
Local News
Previews of shows with Jewish performers at this year’s Fringe Festival July 16-27
For show dates and venues go to winnipegfringe.com
By BERNIE BELLAN As has been our custom for many years now we try to find shows that have either Jewish performers or themes that would have particular appeal for Jewish audiences. Many of the Jewish performers at this year’s festival have been here before, but several are new. In no particular order here are blurbs about the shows we’ve found that fit the criteria I’ve just described. (By they way, if we’ve omitted a show that should be included in our list there’s plenty of time to get added to this post. Just drop me a line at jewishp@mymts.net.)
You’ve Been Served: A One-Woman Show About Divorce, Cults, and Coming of Age at Midlife
Noemi Zeigler
You are hereby summoned… to laugh, cry, and maybe belt out a Streisand number in solidarity. You’ve Been Served is a raw and riotous solo comedy by writer-performer Noemi Zeigler. It all begins when Noemi is served divorce papers on top of a garbage bin lid while taking out the trash—an undignified start to a full-blown midlife unraveling.
At 50, still clinging to her dream of becoming a singer, she falls under the spell of a music producer slash self-help guru, joins a spiritual cult, and, instead of landing a record deal, she lands in jail. Behind bars, with help from her long-buried inner child, she begins to reclaim her voice and her power. Turns out, dreams really do come true—just not the way she expected.
The show features vividly drawn characters—including a manipulative cult leader, a toxic ex-husband, and a jail guard named Roach who shares Noemi’s obsession with the fashion of Charlie’s Angels (the ‘70s TV version, of course.)
With salsa dancing, twerking, and a belting rendition of Don’t Rain on My Parade, Zeigler dives into abandonment, reinvention, and self-rescue. As she confronts perimenopause, she discovers it’s not the end—it’s the new puberty. The show touches on grief, sexuality, and spiritual confusion, but Noemi’s childlike optimism asks: What if your breakdown is actually your breakthrough?
You’re good for nothing… I’ll milk the cow myself
Written & Performed by Natacha Ruck
France, 1981: The first socialist president is about to be elected and young Natacha is ready to implement her own political platform. But first, she has to take down the schoolyard bully,emasculate the rules of French grammar and make off with grandmother’s chocolate.
If you think you know the limits of Jewish mothers, evil grandmothers and transcontinental lovers, meet Natacha Ruck’s family. This true tale of three generations of women, facing three world wars, is equal parts hilarious, shocking and zany.
A One Human Being, Potentially Comedic Performance of Beauty and the Beast NEW WORK!
Written & Performed by Alli Perlov
Be our guest! Local high school drama teacher Alli Perlov is back for a tale as old as time. Can she sing? Not really. Can she act? That’s debatable. Will you laugh? Oh… probably.
Perlov plays dozens of characters, some human, some animal, and many objects, in a comedic exploration of Beauty and the Beast.
In an homage to this brilliant musical adventure, through witty commentary and unstoppable energy, Perlov aims to entertain an audience that isn’t forced to be there like her students.
Hockey Sticks and Beaver Pie
Written & Performed by Melanie Gall
Take a trip around Manitoba. From the 30,000 ft. St. Adolphe snow maze to the Narcisse snake dens! After all, where else holds both the title of Slurpee Capital of the World and the Guinness Record for the most people simultaneously howling like wolves?
Deanna Durbin, Terry Jacks and Burton Cummings are among the many homegrown stars, and Hockey Sticks features their music along with original songs and the stories that make this province unique.
Starring Melanie Gall from past shows Piaf & Brel, Ingenue and Toast to Prohibition
Nerohilarity Exposed
Produced by Adam Schwartz
We all sometimes feel exposed, whether that’s as a fraud or a pretender.
The performers of the award-winning Neurohilarity show, Danielle Kayahara (Laugh Out Loud CBC), Carole Cunningham (Yuk Yuks, The Debaters), Adam Schwartz (Winnipeg Fringe) and Rollin Penner (Yuk Yuks, CBC, Rumors, Winnipeg Comedy Festival), apply a comedic spin to the experiences that make us feel insecure, stripping away the emotional weight with nittygritty jokes and stories that will have you laughing uproariously.
Brilliantly awkward.
A Lesbian in the Kitchen
Willow Rosenberg
Professional lesbian Willow Rosenberg takes you on a journey through the centuries, superstitions and tablespoons of her lifelong passion for baking in this spiritual successor to 2024’s Jenny Award-nominated A Lesbian in a Bear Store.
Whether you have a favourite spatula, bake once or twice a year, or live in constant fear of being told to “just fold it in”, this one-woman show about family, joy, tradition (but make it gay),
Judaism, comfort, home (but make it gayer*), love, chemistry and magic is for you!
*Who’re we kidding, it’s all gay!
Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany
Written & Performed by Ingrid Garner
(Ed. note: Although Ingrid Garner isn’t Jewish, we thought the theme of this show might have a special appeal for Jewish readers.)
Based on Eleanor Ramrath Garner’s best-selling memoir, this 16x internationally award-winning adaptation – performed by her granddaughter, Ingrid Garner – details Eleanor’s youth as an American caught in Second World War Berlin.
Punctuated with humour and accompanied by cinematic sound and video, Garner embodies her ancestors in this coming-of-age odyssey, delivering an account of war that is more relevant than ever.
Reviewing The Free Press 2
Benji Rothman
The Winnipeg Free Press has run amok, reviewing each and every Fringe show over the past two decades without consequence or recourse. Now, it’s their turn… again.
In this refurbished work that debuted at last year’s Winnipeg Fringe, Benji Rothman once again takes the Winnipeg Free Press to task. In this (mostly) new, (hopefully) hilarious 45-minute show, Rothman dives deep into their past and exposes their faulty journalism, imbalanced reporting and, of course, embarrassing typos.
Local News
Jewish performers at this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival July 10-13
The Black Sea Station
Long ago, there were the klezmorim, itinerant musicians who roamed the back streets of Eastern Europe, playing at parties for meals and a few coins. The sound they honed then was a visceral exploration of life’s joy, and its loss; they could whip audiences into a frenzy of dancing, or bring them to tears with the mournful wail of a clarinet. Today, Winnipeg’s own The Black Sea Station is carrying on this tradition. Featuring Daniel Koulack (bass), Victor Schultz (violin) and Myron Schultz (clarinet) — cofounders of seminal local klezmer act Finjan — along with Moldovan accordion wizard Nikolai Prisacar and multi-instrumentalist Ben Mink, the quintet transports listeners to a time and place long past. Through a mix of original songs rooted in history, and traditional tunes spun up with modern zest, they whirl through the exuberant klezmer sounds of their Eastern European heritage, tending the old ways with deep love and respect.
The Black Sea Station will be performing Sunday, July 13, at 1:00 pm in Snowberry Field.
Romi Mayes
Romi Mayes has taken some hard knocks in her life, but she’s never faded away. For more than 25 years, Manitoba’s first lady of blues-rock has been a lynchpin of the Canadian roots scene. She earned that position the old-fashioned way, through her gritty, passionately emotive music. With her sizzling guitars and full-throated rasp, the Juno-nominated performer howls and purrs through razor-edged lyrics, rocking out wherever she can find a stage. She’s long been one of the hardest-working musicians on the circuit, keeping a busy slate of gigs and mentoring up-and-coming artists to get a foothold on the trails she blazed. Now, after a nine-year hiatus from the studio, Mayes has put her scintillating sound back on record with her long-awaited seventh album, Small Victories — a return that leaves no doubt, no matter the ups and downs, Mayes is here to stay.
Romi will be performing Friday, July 11, at 1:00 pm in Burr Oak.
Leonard Podolak (with Matt Gordon)
Ireland’s Matt Gordon is a fiddler and singer, whose fleet-footed clogging and thigh-slapping hambone has taken stages by storm since the 1980s. Leonard Podolak is a virtuosic master of the clawhammer banjo, who for decades has whipped up some of Manitoba’s wildest roots parties with his band, The Duhks. Put those talents together, and they can promise you this much: we’re all gonna have a real good time. Longtime friends and musical collaborators, Gordon and Podolak deliver an exhilarating trip through old-time Appalachian music. Their performances seamlessly blend intricate instrumental lines with heartfelt singing and dazzling dance. They’ve teamed up on a few records over the years, including 2020’s bigband extravaganza Power Wagon: Live At Shanley’s. But the best way to experience this duo’s toe-tapping, hand-clapping chemistry is to see it live.
Podolak and Gordon will be performing A concert with a side of clogging Sunday, July 13, at 3:00 pm in Folk School.