Israel | The new law will oblige government organizations to donate surplus food to those in need.

At the plenary session of the Knesset, a law was passed in the second and third readings that will oblige large organizations to donate surplus food to those in need. The law applies to government agencies that prepare at least 500 meals per day.

It is expected that implementation of this law will allow quality surplus food to be transferred to hundreds of thousands of needy families, thereby reducing government spending on health and social services.

This law does not apply to the security forces and some departments of the Ministry of Defense, but it covers the Knesset, local authorities, the Bank of Israel, the National Insurance Institute, the Airport Authority and other organizations. It will be possible to refuse to implement this law only for economic and security reasons.

According to the organization Leket Israel, which promotes the donation of surplus food to the poor, 2.6 million tons of food were wasted in 2022 with a cumulative value of 23.1 billion shekels. We are talking about 37% of Israel’s food supply and more than a million tons of edible food.

Yet 1.4 million people in Israel live in food insecurity, and food waste accounts for a third of household waste in Israel and is responsible for 6% of Israel’s greenhouse gas emissions.