Israeli food rescue group adjusts approach to meet growing needs in the COVID era

When Israel came to a standstill in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID pandemic, shops, restaurants and offices shut down as part of a nationwide lockdown.

But for Israel's hungry, there was no break.

On the contrary, the closure of corporate dining facilities, restaurants, hotels and military base cafeterias left them more vulnerable because suddenly there were no excess meals from these institutions to donate.

For Leket, Israel's leading food rescue organization, this was an immense challenge. The main sources of surplus food for the hot meals that Leket provides daily to tens of thousands...