Leket Israel facts for kids
|
לקט ישראל
|
|
 |
|
| Predecessor | Table to Table, The National Food Bank |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Joseph Gitler |
| Registration no. | 580407633 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Headquarters | 11 Hasadna Street, Ra'anana, Israel |
| Services | Sources and collects food, which would otherwise be considered waste, from farms, hotels, military bases, and catering halls, and distributes to nonprofit organizations that provide nutritious food to Israelis. |
|
Revenue (2015)
|
NIS 131,156,000 |
| Expenses (2015) | NIS 124,976,000 |
Leket Israel, also known as The National Food Bank, is a special charity in Israel. It helps people who don't have enough food. Leket Israel is the biggest group in Israel that "rescues" food. This means they save food that would otherwise be thrown away. They collect extra fruits and vegetables from farms and leftover cooked meals from places like hotels. Then, they give this food to over 330,000 people in need every week. They work with more than 200 other helpful organizations across Israel.
Contents
What Leket Israel Does
Leket Israel's main goal is to make sure good food doesn't go to waste and gets to people who need it. The idea of "Leket" comes from an old Jewish tradition. It means leaving some crops in the field for poor people to gather.
Saving Food from Farms
Many farmers sometimes have too much produce or find it too expensive to pick everything. This means tons of fresh fruits and vegetables could be wasted each year. Leket Israel asks farmers if their volunteers can come and pick these extra crops. Then, they give the food to people who are hungry. In 2011, over 40,000 volunteers helped with this "Project Leket." This project also helps different groups of people work together peacefully.
Even famous people have helped! Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon allowed Leket Israel volunteers to pick oranges from his farm.
Helping Kids Get Healthy Meals
Sadly, many children in Israel live in poverty. This means they might go to school without a healthy breakfast or lunch. In 2006, a charity from Florida, USA, called Hands on Tzedakah, teamed up with Leket Israel. They created a program to give school children at least one healthy meal a day.
Today, Leket Israel volunteers prepare and deliver over 4,500 mid-morning meals to students in 70 schools across Israel. Each school day, kids get a fresh roll filled with things like hummus, cheese, or tuna, plus a fresh fruit or vegetable. This program helps bring communities together.
How Leket Israel Started
In 2003, a report showed that many people in Israel were living in poverty and didn't always know where their next meal would come from. Joseph Gitler, who had recently moved to Israel, noticed that many charities spent a lot of money buying food. At the same time, places that hosted events, like caterers, were throwing away huge amounts of good food.
Mr. Gitler had an idea: he offered to pick up the extra food from these places and give it to the charities. This way, food was saved, and people in need got meals. This was the start of his organization, which was first called Table to Table.
In 2010, Table to Table joined with another group called Leket Food Bank. Together, they became Leket Israel. Now, Leket Israel is the country's main food bank and largest food rescue network. They safely collect and give out nutritious food that would have been wasted. They work with 200 partner organizations, helping over 175,000 Israelis every week. Leket Israel also teaches these partner groups about healthy eating and food safety. They help places like soup kitchens, centers for older people, and shelters. Each year, 50,000 volunteers help Leket Israel save food.
Leket Israel is unique because it's the only organization in Israel that rescues food on a national level from hotels, caterers, and farms. This support helps their partner organizations save millions of dollars on food costs each year.
In 2018, with the help of over 47,000 volunteers, Leket Israel:
- Saved and gave out more than 37 million pounds of farm produce, prepared meals, and other healthy food.
- Grew over 3 million pounds of crops on farms to add to the rescued food.
- Taught 70 workshops on how to eat healthy on a small budget.
- Visited partner organizations to make sure food was handled safely.
- Helped partner organizations improve their kitchens and storage with new equipment.
Food Donation Law
In October 2018, after many years of hard work, a new law called the Food Donation Act was passed in Israel. This law is similar to one in the United States. It protects people and organizations who donate food from being sued, as long as they follow food safety rules. This encourages more people and businesses to donate their extra food without worrying. Israel is one of only a few countries in the world with such a law.
Awards and Recognition
Leket Israel has received several important awards and honors for its work:
- It has been recognized for its effectiveness by the Midot Seal (from 2011 to 2021).
- It was certified as energy efficient in 2015.
- Its founder, Joseph Gitler, won the Bonei Zion Prize in 2014 for his community work.
- Leket Israel is the official Israeli member of the Global Foodbanking Network.
- It received a special award from the President in 2011.
Programs Leket Israel Runs
Leket Israel has several important programs to help people and prevent food waste.
Leket to Table: Meal Rescue
This program saves hot meals and prepared food from over 300 places like hotels, army bases, and company cafeterias. This food provides important daily nutrition to thousands of people. In 2019, about 2.4 million meals were collected and given to over 80 partner organizations, including soup kitchens and homeless shelters.
Project Leket: Gleaning Initiative
Started in 2005, this program stops fruits and vegetables from being wasted when many people are hungry. Leket Israel staff and volunteers go to fields, orchards, and packing houses. They rescue over 35 million pounds of fruits and vegetables each year that farmers planned to throw away. This project gives poor people access to healthy food they couldn't otherwise afford. This idea is inspired by the Bible, which says to leave some crops for those in need.
Self-Growing Initiative
In 2011, Leket Israel started growing its own food to add to what they rescue. They have two farms where volunteers help grow 8-10 types of healthy vegetables. These farms produce up to 3.3 million pounds of vegetables every year.
Sandwich for School Kids Project
This project provides 7,800 freshly made sandwiches every day to children in over 100 schools across Israel. Volunteers prepare these sandwiches for kids who need them.
Manufactured Food Rescue
Leket Israel also saves about 22 tons of dairy products, baked goods, and frozen foods each week. These come from 25 companies that donate items close to their expiry dates, or products that were made too much or packaged incorrectly.
Nutrition for Life Program
Leket Israel believes in providing healthy, nutritious food. Their team runs workshops for communities that need them. These workshops teach people how to eat healthy on a small budget, how to include more fruits and vegetables in their meals, and even how to prepare healthy food. The workshops are led by trained dieticians and are offered in several languages. In 2018, they started special workshops for parents and children to learn about healthy family eating together.
Capacity Building Assistance Program for Nonprofits
Leket Israel makes sure that all the food they donate is handled safely. They regularly check their partner organizations. To help these groups keep food safe, Leket Israel provides money for things like industrial refrigerators, ovens, and storage shelves. This helps the partner organizations improve their facilities.
See also
