Who you will help

In the city of Lod, 36% of the city's residents live below the poverty line. Most families are Ethiopian, have language and cultural gaps, and struggle to integrate into the employment market and society. Living below the poverty line means that families struggle to put food on the table. When people are routinely hungry, they cannot concentrate at school or at work, and instead are only focused on where their next meal with come from. It's impossible to break the cycle of poverty that keeps families stuck in difficult situations if you cannot first meet your basic needs. To ensure all citizens of Lod are properly fed and cared for, the city is launching three sustainable food initiatives. These initiatives will be housed in a central multi-purpose building and provide widespread benefits for Lod - it will create opportunities for employment and livelihood, social empowerment and local pride, and self-generated income. Once built, the program expects to serve 400 families in 2023, and 1000 families by 2025.

Your donation will fund

The city requires a multi-purpose building that will house 3 new sustainable food projects:

Vegetable Garden - the garden will serve as a learning center of ancient cultivation methods used in Ethiopia along with methods that integrate technological innovation, hydroponic crops and environmental protection. Israel is a global leader in agricultural innovations.

Food Salvaging Center - the center's activity will consist of collecting surplus (leftover) warm food from nearby IDF bases and distributing it to families in need in Lod. This solution serves both a sustainable and social welfare vision: It salvages food that would otherwise go to waste, while providing families in need with warm, high-quality meals.

Community Market - the market, run by volunteers and students, will collect and distribute large quantities of unsold produce from nearby merchants that are typically thrown away. This includes fruits and vegetables from the adjacent farm, as well as bakeries and other shops around the city. The long-term goal is to develop a large network of merchants so that leftover food is redistributed to the people who need it.

Location

Lod is 15km southeast of Tel Aviv.