The Kirya
Photo: Dana Kopel
IDF HQ joins 50+ bases donating leftovers to soup kitchens
Tel Aviv's Kirya is joining a two-year-old program that brings uneaten soldiers' food to soup kitchens serving the needy, elderly, and Holocaust survivors.
The Kirya (IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv) cafeteria has joined up to an initiative that takes leftover foods uneaten by soldiers from army bases to soup kitchens that feeds hundreds of needy people, including senior citizens and Holocaust survivors.
The Leket Israel foundation is responsible for the project. Agency Relations Manager Pini Fefer stated that the collaboration with the army in collecting food from bases began two years ago: "Today, the army is our largest provider for cooked food. We are working with nearly 50 bases across the country and collecting leftovers every day. All in all, we receive some 45,000 meals from the army per month.
"A week ago, we started with the Kirya, and it's working great. Yesterday, for example, we collected 400 meals from there. It's a very large base, and it naturally has a lot of leftovers."
Kiryat Ekron soup kitchen (Photo: Tzvika Tishler)
The IDF food is warmly and happily received by the soup kitchens. At one in Kiryat Ekron, whither the Kirya food is sent, A 77-year-old Holocaust survivor said, "I get food here regularly. The food is great, and I thank them for it. It's not simple or easy for us, and they let us live with dignity."
Another needy person at the same soup kitchen is Zachariah Tsioni. On Monday, he said excitedly about the military project, "I'm treated by (the Ministry of) Social Affairs and receive money from Social Security. I don't have a father, and my mother suffers from psychological problems. I don't have anything to eat, and (the soup kitchen) gives me a lot of help. Lots of people would go hungry without it. I eat here every day, and the meals are very tasty. There's chicken, fish, meat, potatoes, pasta, rice—and the food here is phenomenal."
The head of public relations in the IDF's food center's logistics division, Lt. Col. Tsala Sharma, said, "The leftover-food-donation project began in 2014 and with time has strengthened. We started with a few single units. It's important for us that instead of being thrown into the trash, the food be transferred as a donation to the community. If there are leftovers anyway, then it's important to donate to the right places."
