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, The National Food Bank is a special charity in Israel. It's the main group that saves food from being wasted. Leket Israel helps over 175,000 people in need every week. They collect extra food from farms and cooked meals that would otherwise be thrown away. Then, they give this food to more than 200 other charities across Israel. These charities then share the food with people who need it.
Contents
Why Leket Israel Helps
Leket Israel's main idea comes from an old Jewish tradition called Leket, or "gleanings." This idea is found in the Torah (an ancient Jewish text). It says that farmers should leave some crops in their fields for poor people to pick up. This way, no one goes hungry.
The founder of Leket Israel, Joseph Gitler, believes that wasting food is wrong. He saw that many farmers couldn't harvest all their crops. Sometimes it was too expensive, or the crops would spoil before they could be picked. This meant tons of fresh fruits and vegetables were wasted each year.
Leket Israel works with farmers to pick these extra crops. Volunteers help gather the food, which is then given to people in need. In 2011, over 40,000 volunteers helped with this project. Leket Israel also hired 20 Arab women to help pick food. This shows how the organization helps different groups of people work together for a good cause.
Even important leaders have supported Leket Israel. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon let volunteers pick oranges from his farm. This happened after someone from Leket Israel noticed his unpicked fruit.
Sadly, many children in Israel live in poverty. This means they might not get enough healthy food. Some children even go to school without breakfast or lunch. In 2006, a charity from Florida called Hands on Tzedakah teamed up with Leket Israel. They wanted to make sure school children got at least one healthy meal each day.
Now, Leket Israel volunteers make and deliver over 4,500 morning meals to students. These meals go to 70 schools across Israel every school day. Children get a fresh roll with hummus, cream cheese, yellow cheese, or tuna. They also get a fresh fruit or vegetable. This program helps bring different parts of the community together.
How Leket Israel Started
In 2003, a report showed that a quarter of people in Israel were living in poverty. Many didn't 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, restaurants and event halls were throwing away huge amounts of food after events.
Mr. Gitler had an idea. He offered to pick up the extra food from these places and give it to charities. This way, food was saved from being wasted, 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. Today, Leket Israel is the biggest food rescue group in the country. Their main goal is to safely collect and give out healthy extra food in Israel. This food would otherwise be thrown away. They give it to over 200 partner charities, helping more than 175,000 Israelis every week.
Leket Israel also helps its partner charities learn about healthy eating and food safety. They help these groups improve their kitchens and storage. Leket Israel works with many different types of charities. These include soup kitchens, places that give food packages, centers for older people, and shelters for young people. Each year, 50,000 volunteers help Leket Israel save food. The organization also teaches people about food waste and the importance of healthy eating.
Leket Israel is the only group in Israel that saves food from hotels and restaurants on a national level. They are also the only ones who work with farmers to pick extra crops from fields. This support helps their partner charities save millions of dollars on food each year. It also means more fresh food for people who need it.
In 2018, Leket Israel, with the help of over 47,000 volunteers, did a lot of good:
- They saved and gave out over 37 million pounds of farm produce, cooked meals, and other healthy food.
- They grew over 3 million pounds of crops with farmers to add to the rescued food.
- They held 70 workshops to teach people about healthy eating on a small budget.
- They visited partner charities hundreds of times to make sure food was handled safely.
- They gave $110,000 to help charities buy better equipment for food safety.
Food Donation Law
In October 2018, a very important law called the Food Donation Act was passed in Israel. This law took 10 years of hard work to achieve. It was supported by several members of the Israeli parliament, called the Knesset, and by Leket Israel.
This law is like similar ones in countries such as the US and Canada. It protects people and groups who donate food. It means that food donors, charities, and their volunteers won't be held responsible if something goes wrong with the food, 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 seven countries in the world with such a law.
Awards and Recognition
Leket Israel has received many awards and honors for its important work:
- Midot Seal of Effectiveness (2011-2021)
- Greenhouse Energy Efficient Certified (2015)
- Bonei Zion Prize 2014 (given to Leket Israel's founder for community work)
- Official Israeli representative of the Global Foodbanking Network (joined in 2011)
- Presidential Citation Recipient (Awarded 2011)
Government Partnerships
Leket Israel is an Israeli charity, but it doesn't get much money from the government. In 2019, only about 6.4% of its budget came from government sources. This money was for two new projects. One project is with the Ministry of Agriculture. Leket Israel teaches the Bedouin community in the Negev desert about healthy eating and how to use extra farm produce.
The second project is part of the National Food Security Initiative. Leket Israel works with another group to give special cards worth NIS 500 to thousands of families who don't have enough food. These families can use the cards to buy food, including special packages of rescued produce from Leket Israel.
Leket Israel Programs
Leket Israel runs several programs to help people and reduce food waste:
Meal Rescue: Leket to Table
Leket Israel saves hot meals and prepared food from over 300 places. These include hotels, army bases, and company cafeterias. This provides important daily meals for thousands of people in need. In 2019, they collected and gave out about 2.4 million meals. That's over 46,000 hot meals every week! These meals go to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and schools for at-risk youth.
Gleaning Initiative: Project Leket
Project Leket started in 2005. Its goal is to stop the waste of fruits and vegetables when so many people are hungry. Through this program, Leket Israel staff and volunteers save over 35 million pounds of fruits and vegetables each year. This food would otherwise be thrown away by farmers. This project gives tens of thousands of poor Israelis access to healthy food they couldn't afford. This project 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. This helps them get food that isn't available through rescue efforts. They have two farms, one in Moshav Nahalal and one in Binyamina. Together, these farms cover 45 acres. With the help of 20,000 volunteer pickers, they grow up to 3.3 million pounds of 8-10 different healthy vegetables every year.
Sandwich for School Kids Project
This project provides 7,800 sandwiches every day to children in over 100 schools across Israel. Volunteers make these sandwiches for students who might not have breakfast or lunch otherwise.
Manufactured Food Rescue
Leket Israel saves about 22 tons of dairy products, baked goods, and frozen foods every week. They get these from 25 companies like Supersol and Angel Bakeries. These are foods that are close to their expiry dates, or were made too much, or packaged incorrectly.
Purchasing Cooperative for Nonprofits
Leket Israel helps other charities save money on food. Through their purchasing cooperative, these charities can get up to 25% off their food budgets.
Nutrition for Life Program
Leket Israel believes in providing healthy, nutritious food. Their Nutrition and Food Safety team holds workshops for communities that don't have much money. These workshops teach people how to eat healthy on a small budget. They also show how to add more fruits and vegetables to meals. The workshops are led by trained dieticians and are offered in Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, and Amharic.
In 2018, Leket Israel started new workshops for parents and children together. These workshops teach families how to eat healthy, try new foods, and the importance of eating breakfast and dinner together.
Capacity Building Assistance for Nonprofits
Leket Israel has strict rules for food safety. They regularly check their partner charities to make sure food is handled safely. To help these charities, Leket Israel provides money for things like industrial refrigerators, ovens, and shelving units. This helps the charities improve their kitchens and keep food safe.
See also
