The people trying to rescue 1.2 million tonnes of lost food - The Jewish Chronicle

Aharon Anschel, of Migdal HaEmek in northern Israel, comes every day to the local Chabad soup kitchen, a partner of Leket Israel, to receive a hot meal for his father. Unfortunately, Aharon’s father is ill and is no longer able to leave the house. He lives alone with a caretaker and Aharon supports him, financially and emotionally.

“I do as much as I can for my father but I also have my own family to take care of and support,” says Aharon. “Being able to get a healthy hot meal to take to my father makes my life so much easier and I know that he’s eating well. The meals I receive thanks to Leket Israel help me take care of my father in a way that I’m not able to on my own.”

Recently, Leket Israel publicised its fourth Annual Food Waste and Rescue Report in cooperation with the consulting firm BDO. The report presents, for the first time in Israel, a detailed model for the estimation of food loss in the household consumption sector, its value and impact on households in Israel and how Israelis compare to others around the world.

The report reveals that food loss in Israel this year amounts to 2.5 million tonnes with a market value of 19.7 billion shekels (£4.2 billion), 35 per cent of all food produced.

It is especially disheartening to learn the amount of food going to waste, when considering the number of people living with food insecurity, never knowing where their next meal is coming from.

But almost half of this lost food, 1.2 million tonnes, valued at 7 billion shekels (£1.5 billion), can be rescued.

As Israel’s leading food rescue operation, Leket Israel rescued 2.2 million cooked meals in 2018, from IDF army bases, hotels catering companies and restaurants, and 15.5 thousand tonnes of agricultural produce worth 150 million shekels (about £32 million). All this rescued food was then redistributed to 175,000 needy people weekly through Leket Israel’s network of 200 non-profit agency partners throughout Israel.

The issue of food rescue is not unique to Israel. In fact City Harvest, the London-based food bank, claims that food from over 13 million meals is wasted by businesses every month, which is more than enough to supply cooked meals to the 9.2 million people living with food insecurity.

Later this month, on March 24, Leket Israel will be hosting a panel of experts in London for a fascinating insight into using technology and food rescue to reduce food waste and to shape the future - and how we as consumers can do our part to tackle this issue. The guests of the panel range in expertise from food banking to food tech to professional chef and will discuss the question: “How is food waste changing our world and how can we combat it?”

Join Leket Israel as they host Joseph Gitler, founder and chairman of Leket Israel; Nadav Berger, co-founder of PeakBridge Partners, a dedicated global foodtech venture capital fund; Lisa Moon, president and CEO of Global FoodBanking Network; Emma Spitzer, BBC MasterChef 2015 finalist and author of Fress: Bold Fresh Flavours from a Jewish Kitchen and Laura Winningham, CEO of City Harvest, London. The panel will be moderated by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, rabbi of New North London Synagogue and co-founder of the Eco-Synagogue.