1.5 million Israelis face food insecurity while one third of nation's food is wasted

More than one-third (39%) of all food in Israel goes to waste while 1.5 million citizens – 15% of the country’s population – face food insecurity, a new Leket Israel report reveals. The 10th Annual Food Waste and Rescue Report was prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health.

The excessive food waste reportedly cost the nation $64 billion over the past decade. While Israel’s political leaders have approved a national plan to address the crisis after careful deliberation, experts say action is long overdue.

Leket, Israel’s largest food rescue organization, has urged the state for the past decade to address and solve the excessive food waste in the country. 

Referring to the report, Gidi Kroch, CEO of Leket Israel, called the continued food waste a “national failure with no moral, environmental, social, or economic justification.” 

“After a decade of awareness, the time has come for action. We must stop throwing food away and start rescuing it,” Kroch stated. “For 22 years, Leket Israel, the National Food Bank, has worked with farmers, manufacturers, retailers, and volunteers to rescue high-quality food and distribute it to hundreds of thousands of families."

Kroch also emphasized that the food rescue efforts are crucial for the national economy. 

“Every shekel invested in food rescue yields NIS 10.7 in value to the national economy. This is an immediate, sustainable, and cost-effective solution. The government must allocate funding to achieve a clear goal: an Israel without food loss,” he urged.

Chen Herzog, chief economist at BDO and editor of the report, stressed that food waste causes rising food prices. 

“The economy paid a high price during the war due to increased food loss, especially in agriculture,” Herzog explained. “Food loss has contributed to a roughly 15% rise in fruit and vegetable prices since the war began. The confrontation line areas near Gaza and the North – responsible for about 30% of agricultural output – must be part of any recovery plan that includes an operational policy to reduce food waste."

Dr. Moran Blaychfeld Magnazi, director of the Nutrition Division at the Ministry of Health, specifically called for improved access to fruit and vegetables.

“Increasing fruit and vegetable intake among food-insecure populations can significantly improve their health, enhance quality of life, and save the economy substantial costs,” she assessed.

The report noted that food waste has dropped from 300 to 260 kilograms (662–573 pounds) per person per year, a decrease of 13.3%. However, overall food waste remains high due to continued population growth and rising living costs. Last year, some 2.6 million tons of food valued at $7 billion were wasted in Israel. This represents 1.3% of the country’s GDP and an annual cost of $2,915 per household.

Israel, the Start-Up Nation, has in recent years become an affluent, tech-oriented economy. However, this economic growth has been unevenly distributed, and wages in non-tech sectors remain significantly lower. According to a 2021 National Insurance Institute report, over 20% of Israelis – including nearly one-third of all children – live below the official poverty line.

Much of this poverty is concentrated in the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors, which generally have larger families and a significantly lower participation rate in the Israeli economy, especially among Arab women and ultra-Orthodox men. While the poverty rate declined in 2024, it remains high compared to other advanced OECD economies. 

Food waste also has a negative impact on the environment, leading to increased environmental and health costs. Responding to the new report, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman announced that her ministry’s new plan “charts the path forward and provides an environmental and socio-economic response to one of the major challenges facing Israel’s food systems.” The minister also vowed to shrink Israel’s environmental footprint.