More Than Just a Meal

In the heart of Israel, CBN Israel has forged a vital partnership with Leket, a pioneering food rescue organization dedicated to combating food waste and delivering nutritious meals to those in need nationwide. With CBN Israel’s steadfast support, Leket deploys a truck capable of carrying over seven tons of food daily, nourishing hundreds and symbolizing a powerful alliance for change.

A Day in the Life at Leket Israel

“Hey, welcome to a day in the life of the CBN Israel staff,” greets Nicole Jansezian, standing amid the vibrant activity at Leket Israel. “We’re here today at Leket Israel, helping them sort surplus fruits and vegetables—a mission CBN Israel has proudly partnered with for years—and we’re so happy to be part of this effort to get nutritious food to people in need all around the country.”

Gidi Kroch’s Vision

“So Leket is actually an organization that’s been around for just over 20 years, about 23 years, something like that,” shares Gidi Kroch, CEO of Leket Israel. “Over 160 people work with us, and we rescue about 35,000 tons annually of food—most of it fresh produce, with about 3,000 tons being meals we rescue. We work with 800 farmers and farms all over Israel, and we have 120 suppliers or donors of food, including catering services. The statistics are staggering—we’ve had 100,000 volunteers, especially in these last years of the war, with many up in the North.”

Kroch adds a heartfelt note: “Just getting these volunteers to work in the fields and collect the produce, they feel the attachment. We see people coming to the field and suddenly they understand where this cucumber grows or where this tomato grows. And then they’re kind of like involved in this, and they have a personal attachment to it. And we see that happening day in and day out.”

The Power of Rescue

“First of all, the amount of produce that we have here, and we have to understand before I go into the details of it, but all what you see here, these crates are full of either carrots or potatoes or onions or whatever,” Kroch explains. “Each bag like this contains over one ton of fresh produce. What’s wrong with these potatoes? They’re slightly small. That’s all. Tomatoes on the vine. Okay. What’s wrong with them? Nothing. Now, the farmer in years, in regular times would just discard it. But now they know of Leket Israel. Say, hey, we’ve got potatoes coming to pick up potatoes. And you look at it and you see just the amount. And this is one day, one room.”

“I see us peppers their peaches here. So like such a great variety. And this is what’s seasonal. Now,” notes Nicole during a walk and talk.  

“And that’s key. Variety is key,” Kroch affirms.  

“The meaning of Leket in Hebrew,” Nicole inquires.  

“Okay. Leket is actually gleaning and gleaning is a mitzvah from the Torah,” Kroch replies. “It means that there’s a few biblical commandments. That one of them like commandments. Thank you. That you’re supposed to leave a small part of your field to be picked by the poor, whether the poor or the Torah even goes on and says to the elderly, to women, to orphans. And that’s Leket. That’s gleaning, collecting what is left at the side of a field. And you’re supposed as a farmer, you’re supposed to leave a small part of your field for the poor.”

The Truck That Feeds Hundreds

“We’re so happy of, the truck you donated to us, the financial support you gave us for the truck,” Kroch expresses with gratitude. “And again, the truck drives every day, five days a week, and does maybe 1 or 2 stops and comes back and then goes out again. And you have to remember that this is a big truck. Every, 15 ton truck that can carry over seven tons of food daily. Just think of about what you’re going to do with seven tons of food. If you have seven tons of food, it can feed hundreds of people. And I think that’s the way how we look at it. We look at the truck. It’s big, it’s huge, but we want to see how much food it delivers at the end. And I think that’s the strength of what CBN is doing.”

A Lasting Partnership

“And that’s the support that we’re receiving from you,” Kroch concludes. “Thank all your viewers and everybody that’s in the CBN community for the charity and for the support to Israel. It’s the tremendous support. It’s been going on for years and we’re so pleased and happy to be able to do what we do with CBN support. It’s extremely important for us and we hope that this partnership will continue for a long while. So thank you to the CBN community. Thank you.”