3,200. Do We Give the Needy Food on Fast Days?

Hilchos Matnos Aniyim 9:4

Food is distributed to the needy even on fast days. If there’s a fast on which the people eat and go to bed without taking care of the needy, they are considered murderers. Regarding such people, Isaiah 1:21 says, “Charity lodges within, and now murderers.” This is the case when the needy were not given bread and the fruit that was typically eaten with bread, such as dates and grapes; if they didn’t give the needy money or wheat (which are not ready to eat immediately after the fast), then they are not considered murderers.

Hilchos Matnos Aniyim 9:5

Donations to the kupah are only collected by two people together because no fewer than two administrators are ever appointed over community finances. The funds of the kupah may be entrusted to one person alone, but they may not be distributed by fewer than three. This is because such distributions are comparable to rendering judgment in financial cases, since each recipient is given his allocation for the week. Donations to the tamchui are collected by three people because they’re not based on pre-set amounts; these are also distributed by three people.