In 2003, TABLE TO TABLE, the precursor to LEKET ISRAEL, was established with the goal of rescuing nutritious surplus food and preventing food waste.
These statistics included the understanding that poverty referred to even those who work for a living yet struggle to survive on a daily basis and still remain below the poverty line.
The organization soon became Israel’s largest food and food distribution network.
In Israel, as in all developed countries, there is a tremendous abundance of food, but there are many problems of millions of tons of healthy, fresh food are wasted or destroyed because of excess quantity, minor imperfections, or financial cost.
Today, LEKET ISRAEL has a fleet of 20 refrigerated trucks and vans, staff and volunteers that rescues and distributes 15,000 tons of fruit and vegetables, the majority donated by farmers all across Israel. Those products are taken to the logistics center, where it is sorted, stored, and prepared for delivery for one of their 200 nonprofit partners.
LEKET ISRAEL purchased a field near Binyamina, where vegetables are grown solely for the needy. This land, is one of the only fields in Israel where produce is grown specifically for this purpose, and the only field that has a greenhouse to grow staple vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers for distribution to those in need on an ongoing basis, even during off seasons.
In October of 2017, Pastor George Annadorai, Director of SHALOM ISRAEL ASIA PACIFIC (SIAP), with the support of many Christians from Asia and the Pacific provided LEKET with the generous funds to purchase the Binyamina field.
Joseph Gitler, LEKET ISRAEL chairman said: “What makes the Binyamina initiative so unique is our ability to grow the most sought-after vegetables among Israeli society and to supply them to our nonprofit partner agencies throughout the country. We are truly grateful for the substantial donation that made this dream become a reality.”
“We are honored to stand alongside LEKET ISRAEL in bringing daily food to Israel’s needy,” said George Annadorai, “Thanks to LEKET, there are thousands who go to bed at night with a full stomach, and that is why we were motivated to create an entire farm to grow produce exclusively for the poor.”