We are blessed to live in a diverse neighborhood with a large Jewish population. Once, while in the local kosher supermarket, Anna picked up a bag of potato chips or something and asked if it was kosher. She was amazed to learn that everything in the store was kosher. But this is how she is growing up; any time we are food shopping, Anna knows that she needs to check to all items to see if they are kosher.

Although a good number of Jews keep kosher year round, you will find many more who make a special effort to be "kosher for Passover" even if they do not observe the laws at other times. My mother-in-law is a great example of this. Though they do not really keep kosher during the year, she has seperate Passover dishes, covers her countertops, and will only buy specially marked "kosher for Passover" foods for the holiday.

Keeping kosher for Passover is not only getting easier as more stores are carrying a greater variety of foods, but kosher for Passover foods are getting better. At least in my opinion. It used to be that your only choice of packaged foods was limited to a few brands that specialize in kosher foods, and the only sweets you could buy were those jelly fruit slices or chocolate covered cashews. Now, mainstream brands have caught on to the idea that there is a good amount of money to be made if they do kosher for Passover runs of their product - even Coca-cola and Pepsi change their formulas just for Passover (substituting corn syrup with sugar).

There is also a nice selection of gourmet products in a wide price range if you're looking for a nice gift or just something to enhance your holiday celebration. Check out the following sites, and please feel free to post others in the comments section - I'm always on the lookout for more sources of kosher goodies!

Kosherbyte.com - Kosher for Passover gift baskets.

KosherGourmetMart - Hard to find gourmet kosher foods.

Avi Glatt - Online kosher supermarket with good selection of kosher for Passover goods. Nice cuts of meat that may not be locally available.

Yossi Sweethouse - Bakery style cookies and other sweets.

Igourmet.com - Large selection of kosher items, some of which are kosher for Passover. Hard to find gourmet kosher foods.