Food charity faces challenges
Volunteers at Table to Table, which collects food from catered events and distributes it to needy families, says recession felt in organization's activity, but work continues with full force
After most large catered events such as weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, there is an excess of wonderful food that will be thrown away without any thought as to where it might otherwise go. The same happens with bakeries and army bases. At the end of the day too much food has been made and so it gets thrown in the dumpster to make room for the fresh food of tomorrow.
This is where Table to Table enters the scene. Table to Table is an organization started by American lawyer Joseph Gitler that strives to feed all those in Israel who may not have access to good food. Volunteers travel to catered events, pick up the leftovers and distribute them to food kitchens where needy people can come and pick up food for their families.
Table to Table also collects excess food from bakeries, perishable food manufacturers, army bases, packinghouses, hotels, restaurants and farms.
In 2008 Table to Table rescued more than 600,000 meals and over 1,200 tons of produce that was given to soup kitchens, senior citizen centers, youth centers, and homeless shelters spreading around the whole country of Israel, and they hope to keep making the numbers grow in 2009.
Table to Table volunteers (Photo: Mike Mitchell)
Staff member Natalie Marx says, "The amazing thing about Table to Table is that we use food that would otherwise be thrown away. If you donate $1 to Table to Table it will buy $5 worth of food which is a really high success rate.”
According to Marx, in the last year the demand for food has grown much higher due to the economic recession.
Various projects
With over 100,000 volunteers Table to Table has been able to develop different projects including Project Leket. Leket, a biblical term coined from the Torah commands Jews to leave 10% of crops for the poor. Table to Table adopted that ideology and have relationships with about 60 farmers around Israel who call when they cannot get rid of their produce.In the northern Galilee region amazing avocadoes and giant zucchinis are grown, but supermarkets refuse buy them due to poor aesthetics and bruises. Table to Table then steps in and rescues up to 60 tons of fruit and vegetables a week.
Other projects include pickups from the largest dairy company in Israel who overproduces dairy.
Marx explained that, “Table to Table is currently facing challenges because of the economy. People are having smaller weddings, which equal less food to pick up. There has also been significantly less rainfall so there is less produce.”
Come volunteer
Table to Table relies heavily its volunteers and groups that come to pick food. One teacher who brought a group of high school students from Baltimore to volunteer, said, “It is important to teach the kids that Judaism is inherently active and not a passive experience. They get the feeling of working with the land and feeling it with their hands.”To learn more about how to sign up and volunteer go to tabletotable.org.il and click on volunteer sign up.
Also, get tickets for a performance of the play "Not for Bread Alone,” which will be performed completely by blind and deaf actors in Jaffa on June 15. All proceeds from ticket sales that night will benefit Table to Table.
