Leket Israel, Europe

Leket Israel, Europe


Leket Israel’s primary mission is to alleviate the problem of nutritional insecurity through the rescue and redistribution of excess food to benefit Israel’s needy.

Project Leket is an initiative that sends thousands of volunteers and dozens of paid pickers into the fields and orchards to gather produce donated or left to rot. In 2010, the project rescued 9 million pounds of fruits and vegetables from over 300 farms throughout Israel and this keeps increasing. All produce is delivered free of charge to over 290 non-profit organizations serving Israel’s needy.

Sandwiches for Kids enlists hundreds of volunteers to prepare and distribute over 7,000 sandwiches each day for children from underprivileged homes in 100 schools from Tzfat and Tiberias in Israel’s north to Be’er Sheva and Netivot in the south.

Hundreds of volunteers across the country gather each evening to rescue prepared meal surpluses from restaurants, catering companies, corporate cafeterias, banquet halls, shopping malls, bakeries and more. Fresh food is safely collected and redelivered to nonprofit organisations including soup kitchens, shelters and community centres serving the needy.

The Gleaning of fruits and vegetables from Israeli farm fields and orchards is a unique activity attracting tens of thousands of volunteers annually. Leket Israel volunteers rescue thousands of tons of agricultural crops every year that are left to rot at the end of every season. Produce is collected from hundreds of farms and packing houses around the country and is temporarily stored in refrigeration rooms of the organisation. The produce is subsequently transported to hundreds of organisations serving those in need throughout the country.

Volunteer work typically involves minor physical labor and includes, by way of example, and preparing of various food parcels and order to go out on the daily routes. Volunteers are welcome during the week between the hours of 09h30 to 14h00. Be sure to call ahead as volunteer opportunities are provided on an as needed and flexible basis according to the daily needs of the logistics centre and the current number of volunteers already on site.