Food rescue in Israel is no longer just about emergency aid – it is a national system that supports farmers, protects the environment, and feeds hundreds of thousands, according to Leket Israel CEO Gidi Kroch. Speaking with Walla diplomatic correspondent Idan Kweller at the Jerusalem Post Miami Conference, Kroch described Leket Israel’s unique model as one rooted in logistics, scale, and responsibility. “We’re a food rescue organization,” he said. “There’s a difference between organizations that supply food and what we do. We go out to farms across Israel and collect the excess, what farmers can’t sell, and deliver it to people in need.” Israel’s agricultural abundance makes the model possible, Kroch noted, but only with the right infrastructure.
Leket collects surplus produce directly from fields and rescues cooked meals from institutional kitchens, including the Israel Defense Forces. “The IDF opened its doors to us 12 years ago,” he said. “Today, they are our biggest supplier of cooked meals.” Last year alone, Leket Israel rescued 32,000 tons of food. “That number doesn’t mean much on its own,” Kroch admitted. “But imagine a thousand tractor trailers standing bumper to bumper, that’s the scale.”
The events of October 7 forced Leket to readjust quickly. “That Saturday night, we understood our model had to change,” Kroch recalled. Drawing on experience from the COVID-19 crisis, Leket shifted focus to Israel’s farmers, particularly in the south. “Farmers are the keepers of the borders, they’re there every day.” Leket launched emergency funds, loan programs, and a massive volunteer operation. Running food rescue at a national level, Kroch said, is largely about logistics. “It’s trucking, cooling facilities, and knowing your communities,” he explained.
Leket works with more than 360 partner organizations and tailors food deliveries to cultural needs. “If people won’t eat it, it’ll be thrown away, and that defeats the purpose.” His closing message was direct: “Volunteer. Spread the word. Support Israel’s farmers. That’s how food rescue becomes national strength.”
This article was written in cooperation with Leket Israel