Miami’s LEC Opens Discount Grocery for Teachers—Then Announces A 10% Raise

Meat, fish, poultry, and dairy for Shabbos that won’t break the bank?

It’s a dream come true for the close to 400 mechanchim at Miami’s Lubavitch Educational Center when the school opened a kosher market exclusively for their staff members, offering groceries at highly subsidized prices!

Makolet discount market opened just in time for Shavuos with groceries and paper goods for sale at prices below wholesale, thanks to funding from generous donors. This isn’t just food boxes for yom tov; Makolet is open twice a week for the families’ everyday food needs.

Then, a few weeks later, on the heels of Gimmel Tammuz, the school announced another benefit for teachers: 10% raises for all staff members, across the board, and two weeks paid maternity leave for all female staff.

“We wanted to support our staff in this way, so they can show up fully to their vital shlichus with one less concern,” says Rabbi Yossi Zavdi, LEC’s Associate Head of School. “We know costs are going up for everything and we wanted to make sure that the mechanchim, who hold our children’s precious neshamos in their hands, have all that they need.”

The response has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. In the few weeks since Makolet’s opening, hundreds of purchases have been made by grateful customers, and teachers are thankful for the upcoming raises.

“Giving a 10% raise is a big jump forward, a monumental project that won’t be easy,” says Rabbi Benjy Korf, LEC’s Head of School, “but it is just the beginning. We will continue to work tirelessly to invest in our teachers and ensure that they can focus on what matters most—with dignity, peace of mind, and full recognition of their vital role in chinuch.”

LEC is deeply grateful to the parent donors who have contributed to make these initiatives possible. For their incredible efforts spearheading the Makolet grocery store, LEC thanks Rabbis Menachem Kozlovsky and Menachem Mendel Korf.

See available staff positions at lecfl.com/career.