The Final Number
$73,581.
That’s what this community gave to make sure Israeli families didn’t enter the new year with no food on the table or in their pantries.
Before Rosh Hashanah, a thousand food packages went out to families in Jerusalem, carried by hand to their doors. Each one held 30 kilos of fresh produce, along with dry goods, eggs, poultry, and fish.
On the first night of the holiday, more than 150 people who otherwise would have been alone sat down together at a full table.
Nobody stood in a line. Nobody had to explain their situation to anyone.
You made that possible.
But your giving didn’t stop when the holiday did. Your donations kept arriving after Rosh Hashanah.
That money went to our partners at Chabad of Kiryat Yovel, who feed this neighborhood year-round and don’t stop when the calendar clears. That matters more than it might sound. Holiday campaigns are the easy part. Everyone thinks about hunger in the days before Rosh Hashanah, and then the attention moves on. The families are still there. The refrigerators are still close to empty. What arrives after the holiday is what carries them through the part of the year nobody writes about.
Here’s What We Didn’t Tell You Then
Among aid recipients surveyed by Latet, Israel’s largest food bank, 84.4% reported times when the food they bought wasn’t enough and there was no money left to buy more. Among elderly recipients, 78.4% said they couldn’t afford the amount of food they needed.
Those are people already receiving help.
A parent puts something back at the supermarket. An elderly Israeli tries to make what’s left in the refrigerator last another day. A family reaches the end of the groceries before it reaches the end of the month.
You didn’t end hunger in Israel. No single campaign could. What you did was change the holiday for a thousand families, and make sure the help kept coming after it was over.
Thank you for that, and for what you continue to make possible for Israelis who need help.
The holiday has passed, and families in Kiryat Yovel are still counting what’s in the refrigerator.
Keep standing with Israelis who need help.
For major gifts, stock donations, or legacy giving, contact Dan at dan@israel365.com.