Israeli High Court Decision Leads Way for Doubling Budget and Reach of National Food Security Initiative

Photo Credit: courtesy, Colel Chabad

Fruit and vegetable crates await delivery

Following an Israeli High Court decision reached last week, Israel’s National Food Security Initiative, a program of the Ministry of Welfare, will receive a significant boost in funding as part of coalition agreement budgets.

The result of this change, which nearly doubles the current budget, is that criteria dictating who is a beneficiary of the program will be based on professional assessments of need, as done by the Ministry of Welfare, as opposed to those previously made by the Ministry of Interior which was largely based on demographic factors of household size.

According to Colel Chabad, the organization charged with implementation and distribution of the support, the impact of this decision is that the number of people who will be supported by the Project will almost double from 30,000 households in 2024 to 50,000 next year.

The decision will particularly benefit people like single mothers and others who previously didn’t fit the criteria set up by the Ministry of the Interior.

The program not only provides financial support towards food purchases but also provides a variety of programs and guidance from the Ministry of Welfare aimed at combating poverty by educating individuals in smart fiscal planning and smarter home economics.

The budget for the program will increase to nearly NIS 300 million with the Israeli government being the lead provider with NIS 180 million annually. Local municipalities and welfare departments will contribute an additional NIS 30 million with the remaining NIS 80-90 million being raised and distributed by Colel Chabad and their partnership with IFCJ (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews).

“We commend the High Court on this important decision that recognizes that basic demographic data is insufficient in determining the real extent of need presented by Israeli society and requires the more informed analysis of the Welfare Ministry,” said Colel Chabad Director Rabbi Shalom Duchman.

“We know it will allow us to provide a far more comprehensive response to fighting poverty in Israeli society and provide a better and more stable quality of living for thousands more families.”

The National Food Security Initiative was founded by then-Social Welfare Minister Issac Herzog, currently Israel’s president. It is operated by Colel Chabad, Israel’s longest continuously running social services organization founded by the Alter Rebbe in 1788, and supported in large part by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).

The program is designed to provide nutritional assistance for individuals and families in ways that reduce their dependence on external support by giving them practical resources and tools to escape the downward cycle of poverty.

“This important decision will help our work with the Welfare Ministry and Colel Chabad to better identify those who need our support in ways that will not only benefit them but also help move Israeli society toward a better tomorrow,” said IFCJ President Yael Eckstein.

“The Fellowship is committed to feeding as many people as we can, to finding those who need food, and to providing it to them. We will not stop until every single person in Israel who has a need for food receives the basics that they deserve. It is such an honor to be involved in figuring out the important question of how we can feed more hungry people in Israel during these difficult times.”