President Rivlin:
“The need is present, real. We at Beit HaNasi receive requests for assistance and feel it in every place, in every sector of society. It is really not nonsense. We have to fight for our sense of mutual responsibility, as we always have as a country. These are the values from which we, the Jewish people, flourished.”
President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Thursday 23 July / 2 Av, packed vegetable boxes for those in need at the logistics center of Leket Israel, the National Food Bank, at Moshav Gan Haim, together with volunteers.
Leket Israel saves agricultural produce and collects a range of high-quality surplus food and distributes it through charitable organizations to hundreds of thousands of people across the country. The president was escorted on his visit by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alon Schuster, CEO of Leket Israel Gidi Kroch and Founder and Chairman of Leket Israel Joseph Gitler.
The president was briefed by Leket’s leadership on the organization’s everyday work, and in times of crisis, and asked to hear in particular about how they were operating during the coronavirus pandemic. CEO Gidi Kroch spoke about the significant changes their operations had undergone and how donations of cooked food had stopped immediately, and that elderly people in need had stopped visiting food banks because of the instructions. He also said that many volunteers had stopped coming for fear of catching the virus. At the same time the donations of agricultural produce had risen sharply, although there was no-one to receive them.
The organization adapted to the new situation and bought and distributed over a million hot meals directly to the homes of those in need, hired additional workers and refrigerated storage and thus saved over 7.5 million kilograms of agricultural produce – 60% more than at the same time last year.
The president continued his visit to the organization’s packing center, where he met workers and volunteers from across the country who were picking and packing agricultural produce, and joined them in packing.
“The coronavirus crisis is not just a health problem – it is also a social and economic crisis. There are families and individuals whose lives and dreams are under threat of being crushed by the virus and what it is doing,” said the president. “The coronavirus has hurt us all, but right now we see that the weaker members of our society have become even weaker. Those in need now need more. It is at difficult times like this that we measure social solidarity and mutual responsibility. Organizations like Leket Israel put into practice these important values. Social responsibility is the key to exiting this crisis safely, as a society. It is right that the State of Israel should support large organizations like Leket. You know the field, can work efficiently and quickly in crises like this. This is a difficult time for Israel.”
The president noted, “The need is present, real. We at Beit HaNasi receive requests for assistance and feel it in every place, in every sector of society. It is really not nonsense. We have to fight for our sense of mutual responsibility, as we always have as a country. These are the values from which we, the Jewish people, flourished. Mutual responsibility protected us over the generations, and it will protect us in this crisis, too.”
The president warmly thanked the volunteers, Jews and Arabs, who come to lend a hand to others – always, but even more so at this time.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alon Schuster: “Leket Israel is where national food security and individual food security for Israeli citizens meet. The organization’s activity shows the importance of Israeli agriculture in creating food security. Thank you, President Rivlin, for the invitation to join your visit, and for your public service that sets an example to all Israeli elected officials.”
President Rivlin:
“The need is present, real. We at Beit HaNasi receive requests for assistance and feel it in every place, in every sector of society. It is really not nonsense. We have to fight for our sense of mutual responsibility, as we always have as a country. These are the values from which we, the Jewish people, flourished.”
President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Thursday 23 July / 2 Av, packed vegetable boxes for those in need at the logistics center of Leket Israel, the National Food Bank, at Moshav Gan Haim, together with volunteers.
Leket Israel saves agricultural produce and collects a range of high-quality surplus food and distributes it through charitable organizations to hundreds of thousands of people across the country. The president was escorted on his visit by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alon Schuster, CEO of Leket Israel Gidi Kroch and Founder and Chairman of Leket Israel Joseph Gitler.
The president was briefed by Leket’s leadership on the organization’s everyday work, and in times of crisis, and asked to hear in particular about how they were operating during the coronavirus pandemic. CEO Gidi Kroch spoke about the significant changes their operations had undergone and how donations of cooked food had stopped immediately, and that elderly people in need had stopped visiting food banks because of the instructions. He also said that many volunteers had stopped coming for fear of catching the virus. At the same time the donations of agricultural produce had risen sharply, although there was no-one to receive them.
The organization adapted to the new situation and bought and distributed over a million hot meals directly to the homes of those in need, hired additional workers and refrigerated storage and thus saved over 7.5 million kilograms of agricultural produce – 60% more than at the same time last year.
The president continued his visit to the organization’s packing center, where he met workers and volunteers from across the country who were picking and packing agricultural produce, and joined them in packing.
“The coronavirus crisis is not just a health problem – it is also a social and economic crisis. There are families and individuals whose lives and dreams are under threat of being crushed by the virus and what it is doing,” said the president. “The coronavirus has hurt us all, but right now we see that the weaker members of our society have become even weaker. Those in need now need more. It is at difficult times like this that we measure social solidarity and mutual responsibility. Organizations like Leket Israel put into practice these important values. Social responsibility is the key to exiting this crisis safely, as a society. It is right that the State of Israel should support large organizations like Leket. You know the field, can work efficiently and quickly in crises like this. This is a difficult time for Israel.”
The president noted, “The need is present, real. We at Beit HaNasi receive requests for assistance and feel it in every place, in every sector of society. It is really not nonsense. We have to fight for our sense of mutual responsibility, as we always have as a country. These are the values from which we, the Jewish people, flourished. Mutual responsibility protected us over the generations, and it will protect us in this crisis, too.”
The president warmly thanked the volunteers, Jews and Arabs, who come to lend a hand to others – always, but even more so at this time.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Alon Schuster: “Leket Israel is where national food security and individual food security for Israeli citizens meet. The organization’s activity shows the importance of Israeli agriculture in creating food security. Thank you, President Rivlin, for the invitation to join your visit, and for your public service that sets an example to all Israeli elected officials.”
