Tu B'Shvat harvest for hungry families

Looking for an original way to mark this upcoming Tu B'Shvat? The Table to Table organization has come up with a socially-conscious alternative to the holiday's traditional tree planting: Harvesting fruits and vegetables for families in need.

On Sunday, February 8, dozens of families, soldiers, students and tourists will gather at a large field near the city of Rehovot in order to pick tens of thousands of kilograms of fruits and vegetables, which will be delivered by the group's trucks to some 200 funds and soup kitchens across Israel.

Table to Table works to rescue excess, unserved food from catered events, bakeries, army bases, perishable food manufacturers, farmers and packinghouses.

Why plant when you can harvest?

In 2008, the organization salvaged some 2.5 tons of fruits and vegetables worth over $2 million from fields and orchards around Israel, as well as some half-a-million food parcels from event halls, catering companies and corporate dining halls.

"We saw it fit to combine humanitarian activity at this time of crisis with the opportunity to get closer to nature and mark the holiday of trees," said the organization's founder and Executive Director Joseph Gitler (33). Gitler made aliyah to Israel several years ago, and was astounded to discover the significant food wastage in Israel at a time of rising poverty.

The organization currently operates tens of thousands of volunteers and owns five trucks that deliver the collected food – via various foundations - to hungry families throughout the country.

Table to Table volunteers picking vegetables

Yuval Melishkevitz, who has been a volunteer for Table to Table for the last two years, recommended the harvest, which he described as a unique way to connect to nature, while giving children a special experience and contributing to a good cause.

Table to Table's Tu B'Shvat harvest will take place on Sunday, February 8, between 11 am-3p pm. For further details please call: 09-7441757, or by email: lihee@t2t.org.il