Leket Israel runs several projects designed to alleviate nutritional insecurity including the organization's award-winning gleaning initiative - Project Leket, Sandwiches for Kids, Meal Rescue, Nutrition for Life, and Food Safety Support, among others.
Founded in 2005, Project Leket is an initiative that sends thousands of volunteers and dozens of paid pickers into fields and orchards to gather produce donated or left unpicked by farmers. In 2012, the project collected and redistributed over 15 million lbs of fruits and vegetables from hundreds of farms throughout Israel. All produce is delivered free of charge to 190 nonprofit organizations serving Israel's needy.
Founded in 2006, Sandwiches for Kids enlists hundreds of volunteers to prepare and distribute 7,800 sandwiches each day for children from underprivileged homes in 113 schools in nearly 40 cities, from Tzfat and Tiberias in Israel's north to Be'er Sheva and Netivot in the south.
Founded in 2003, Leket Israel's Meal Rescue Program was the organization's first initiative to go national. In 2012, hundreds of registered volunteers together with the organization's staff and drivers, collected 770,000 excess meals and 110,000 loaves of bread from banquet halls, caterers, restaurants, food malls, and hotels throughout Israel. Rescued food is immediately transported to local nonprofit organizations or placed in refrigeration for distribution to soup kitchens, shelters and other nonprofits the following day.
Founded in 2010, Leket Israel's "Nutrition for Life" program works to educate food insecure Israelis and the agencies who serve them to the importance of good nutrition. The program offers hands on workshops, lectures, and training with an emphasis on helping at-risk population groups on limited budgets, and partner nonprofits improve the nutritional value and food balance of food baskets and daily meals.
Founded in 2009, Leket Israel's "Food Safety Support" program offers partner nonprofits with free professional assessments and capacity building grants to help identify and fund the purchase of critical infrastructure needed to ensure the proper handling, storage, and safety of food provisions.