Mechirat Chametz

From Rabbi Weiner:

As we rid our houses of leavened bread and related products in  our Passover "spring cleaning", we invite you, first of all, to consider donating your unopened, non-perishable food items to the purpose of feeding the hungry in our midst, by bringing them to the JCA, for collection and distribution to the Amherst Survival Center.  You may also consider making a financial donation, in the spirit of the special tzedakah that is given at Passover to feed the hungry, directly to the survival center, or to some other organization that is addressing famine and food insecurity, whether here in our town, in our country, or in the world-at-large.

There is also the tradition of participating in a symbolic "sale" of whatever chametz may remain in your possession, so that it is not accounted to your ownership over the period of the holiday when it is forbidden.  This is a time-honored, and somewhat charming, Jewish legal fiction that forms an important part of some people's ritual observance.

If you are interested in assigning me as your agent for the sale of your chametz to a non-Jewish person:

Please fill out this form by April 19th

I will take care of the rest!  

Note that participation in this custom also sometimes comes with the giving of a modest donation to the synagogue. though this is not mandatory.