The name Leket is the Hebrew word for the Biblical commandment to allow the poor and needy to gather the "gleanings of your harvest" (Lev. 23,22)." Leket is also the newest project of the Table to Table organization, which was created to fulfill the commandment of Leket in its most efficient form.
Picture Credit: MaryBethArt.com
Every year in Israel, the organizers say, millions of pounds of excess prepared and perishable food are thrown in the garbage. Serving as Israel's umbrella organization for "food-rescue", Table to Table collects excess and unsold food from catered events, corporate cafeterias, army bases, food manufacturers, grocers, farms, and packing houses all over the country, and delivers the food to non-profit agencies serving those in need.
Since its inception in 2003, Table to Table has grown from a one-person campaign to an operation with 700 part-time volunteers and eight full-time employees. Every week, it collects over 10,000 meals, 40 tons of fruits and vegetables, and tens of thousands of fresh products.
According to official statistics, 24% of Israel's population, including 738,000 children, lives under the poverty line.
The new Leket project seeks to rescue food even before it starts to be food. With the permission of farmers, the Leket volunteers enter fields and orchards at the end of the harvest to gather produce that, for whatever reason, has not been picked. The volunteers spend several hours in the fields, and their bounty is delivered by Table to Table to various charity organizations around the country.
Avi Akuni, one of the project's initiators, says, "The farmers themselves don't like to see their produce, whether it be of lesser quality or surplus, thrown out and destroyed, and they have responded to our project in an exceptionally positive manner."
Some 1,000 volunteers take part in the Leket project each week. Among them are school students, IDF units, policemen, hi-tech employees, volunteers from abroad, and others. "They all consider it a privilege to be involved in this mission," Akuni says.
Picture Credit: MaryBethArt.com
Every year in Israel, the organizers say, millions of pounds of excess prepared and perishable food are thrown in the garbage. Serving as Israel's umbrella organization for "food-rescue", Table to Table collects excess and unsold food from catered events, corporate cafeterias, army bases, food manufacturers, grocers, farms, and packing houses all over the country, and delivers the food to non-profit agencies serving those in need.
Since its inception in 2003, Table to Table has grown from a one-person campaign to an operation with 700 part-time volunteers and eight full-time employees. Every week, it collects over 10,000 meals, 40 tons of fruits and vegetables, and tens of thousands of fresh products.
According to official statistics, 24% of Israel's population, including 738,000 children, lives under the poverty line.
The new Leket project seeks to rescue food even before it starts to be food. With the permission of farmers, the Leket volunteers enter fields and orchards at the end of the harvest to gather produce that, for whatever reason, has not been picked. The volunteers spend several hours in the fields, and their bounty is delivered by Table to Table to various charity organizations around the country.
Avi Akuni, one of the project's initiators, says, "The farmers themselves don't like to see their produce, whether it be of lesser quality or surplus, thrown out and destroyed, and they have responded to our project in an exceptionally positive manner."
Some 1,000 volunteers take part in the Leket project each week. Among them are school students, IDF units, policemen, hi-tech employees, volunteers from abroad, and others. "They all consider it a privilege to be involved in this mission," Akuni says.