Recently, the National Insurance Institute released its report on food insecurity in Israel. The report reveals the harsh and appalling truth that food insecurity in Israel is dismal.
It’s important that the National Insurance Institute raises awareness of the issue every few years, but the fact of the matter is that there is nothing new or surprising in the report. These figures have not changed since 2016 (and the families surveyed are the same as in 2016) and there is no reason to expect a change. The reason that we cannot expect a change is quite simple.
No government over the past six years has taken responsibility for food insecurity in Israel, nor has it developed a systematic plan which would significantly impact it. With no plan in place, how can we expect any changes to happen?
The Council for Food Security, which is an advisory committee to the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry, was created to advise on food security issues and present recommendations to the government once a year. Since its establishment five years ago, the council’s recommendations have not once been presented to the government. Meanwhile, past governments have refused to take responsibility; instead, they shift accountability from one ministry to another.
If a meaningful plan to address food insecurity is not formulated and implemented, it is guaranteed that we will be having this exact same conversation after the release of the next report.
We, at Leket Israel, have been working for 20 years to eradicate food insecurity through food rescue. Last year alone, Leket Israel provided over 27,000 tons of fresh rescued food to nonprofit agencies throughout the country.
How can we fight for food security in Israel?
SO, WHAT can we do? Take immediate action!
The potential for food rescue is exponential. The volume of food available for rescue and the leverage created in the food rescue process is what makes it so appealing. For every NIS 1 invested in food rescue, we recover food valued at NIS 4.
According to the 7th Annual Food Waste and Rescue Report, produced by Leket Israel, food rescue can close the food insecurity gap in Israel at only one-third of the cost of the current food support practices – food purchase or food stamps. The cost of food stamps required to close the food insecurity gap requires NIS 3.3 billion ($972m) while the cost of food rescue to close the same gap is NIS 900 million ($265m).
For years, Leket Israel has been meeting with various government ministries and proposing cross-ministerial plans to address the problem of food insecurity by offering effective ways to prevent food waste and encourage food rescue. Each time, the response has been responsibility shifting and lack of cooperation.
The State of Israel and its prime minister must take responsibility and make the issue of food insecurity a high priority. It is imperative that an urgent discussion on food insecurity and food rescue is convened.
The result of such a gathering, including nonprofit organizations, should be a national plan based on utilizing food rescue as a solution to reduce gaps in food insecurity in Israel. It is the government’s duty to act with all the tools at its disposal as soon as possible.
Until that time comes, 450,000 households in Israel will continue to suffer food insecurity, waiting for the politicians to decide what, when and if they will eat.
The writer is the CEO of Leket Israel – the National Food Bank. In 2022, Leket Israel rescued two million meals from hotels, corporate cafeterias and IDF army bases and 26,500 tons of fresh surplus agricultural produce from farmers. The food was distributed through a network of 265 nonprofit partner agencies feeding 234,000 Israelis in need each week. To learn more, visit www.leket.org/en.