I know how hard it is to make ends meet, but I find the idea of having to tell my child, “I am sorry, I don’t have any bread," something I cannot comprehend. And yet you hear stories like this all the time in the media.

Many people take the approach that it is the poor person's fault or tha,t in today’s world, with all the social help and awareness, it’s impossible.

	The happy chef donating food (Photo: Courtesy of Table to Table )

Well, unfortunately, it is true, and sometimes all the social awareness in the world just doesn’t put food on the table - and social help has to come from some place else.

As children we were all taught to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Collecting leftover food

When Table-to-Table started up in Raanana, about two-and-a-half years ago, I went out one night to collect food with a friend (whom, I later found out, was at one point in her life on the receiving side) to see what it was all about.

The idea of collecting leftover food from a simcha (celebration) and passing it on to someone who needed it, seemed great. But was it really as simple as that?

It was a very nice experience: The chef and the waiters at one event were happy they would not have to throw away all their good food and that it would go to someone who really needed it.

All in all it was an inspiring evening.

I never get to bed until after midnight, so I told the coordinator that I would do it every night the following week, while the kids visited their father. I was sleepwalking by the time I got home Tuesday night. After that I decided to help out every other night.

Proud of 'Table-to-Table'

By now, all of my kids, and even some of my friends, have volunteered with me.

My youngest was invited to a bat mitzvah at a hall I had planned on going to later that night. She insisted on staying after everyone left to help collect the food and drop it off at the warehouse. The staff thought it was so cute that they donated more than usual.

Being a volunteer for Table-to-Table makes you more aware of the situation. It is hard to believe how many people need our help. But it also provides you with opportunities to help. I started collecting leftover food from the cafeteria at work, and drop it off at an institution on my way home.

Even though going out late at night is not easy, it is something that has become important in our lives. It puts everything in perspective.

I wake up every morning thanking God for what I have. Sometimes, I see all of this fabulous food, and think, “this would be nice to have for supper tomorrow”.

But the thought barely ends before I say to myself,  “I’ll serve macaroni and cheese and be grateful that I don’t need this kind of help.”

Table-to-Table explainer 

• 22 percent of Israeli citizens - over 1 million people - live in poverty
  

• More than 400,000 Israeli families suffer from "nutritional insecurity," a euphemistic term for hunger
  

• One in five children in Israel go to bed without having had one hot meal
  

• All emergency food programs served by Table-to-Table report more people seeking their services every month
  

• All emergency food programs served by Table-to-Table say they are having difficulties buying food, due to government cutbacks and a considerable drop in financial donations
  

Table-to-Table collects high-quality excess food from catered events, corporate cafeterias, army bases, food manufacturers, farms, and packing houses throughout Israel on a daily basis, and delivers it to non-profit agencies that serve the country's hungry.

Table-to-Table distributes tens of thousands of meals each week, in addition to several tons of fruits and vegetables, and dairy products to soup kitchens, food pantries, day care and senior citizen centers, and homeless shelters.

Table-to-Table: +972.9.744.1757, info@tabletotable.org.il