Alarming data: about a million Israelis live in food insecurity Israel today

The National Insurance's food security survey:

almost a million Israelis lived in food insecurity in the first half of 2021.

In the Arab sector, the rate of those suffering from food insecurity is almost three times higher than the general average.

The National Initiative for Food Security warns: due to a lack of coordination between the aid associations, most of those in need do not receive support at all.

The Research and Planning Administration of the National Insurance is publishing this morning the food security survey data for the first half of 2021. This is the fourth time in the last decade that such a survey has been conducted, and 3,475 families responded to it.

The survey was conducted in the midst of the corona crisis in Israel, during the previous government of Netanyahu.

As part of the crisis, hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off or laid off, and in June 2021, the support allowances given to citizens were stopped because of it.

The findings show that although in the first half of 2021 there was a slight improvement compared to the previous survey, conducted in 2016 - but this is not enough.

There are still too many people in Israel living in food insecurity.

The survey shows that almost a million people in Israel (522 thousand families), of which 665 thousand were children, lived during this period in food insecurity - about half of them in severe food insecurity.

16% of families and 21% of children in Israel live in food insecurity (compared to 18% and 26% in the previous survey, respectively).

As in the poverty report, here too the leading populations in terms of food insecurity are those who live in Jerusalem (23%), in the North District (27%) and in the South District (19%). That is, the problem is in Jerusalem and the outskirts. Almost a fifth of the children in the North District And in Jerusalem they live in continuous food insecurity.

Falling through the cracks

The survey also shows that the poorest populations, who suffer from the highest rates of food insecurity, are Arabs (42.4%), income security allowance recipients (46.1%), single-parent families (34.2%), families with more than five children (30.8 %) and disability pension recipients (32.7%).

In the ultra-orthodox sector, where poverty rates are similar to those in Arab society, an improvement in the level of food insecurity was recorded - 16%.

The reason for this is that those suffering from food insecurity in this sector (three times more than the general population) seek help from various aid organizations.

The National Initiative for Food Security believes that the numbers in Israel are higher, and warns that in the Israel of 2022-2023, hundreds of thousands of families live in severe food insecurity, and receive aid and support mainly during the holidays.

They also warn that tens of thousands of families in Israel are falling through the cracks due to the lack of coordination between the various associations, and due to the sense of shame that prevents people from asking for support.

The food security project of "Eshel Chabad", with the assistance of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, the local authorities and the Friendship Fund, the project provides monthly support all year to approximately 37,600 families in need in the amount of NIS 500 (in the form of shopping vouchers at the food chains and a basket of fruits and vegetables delivered to the home), which are supposed to ensure their nutritional security. The project's budget is NIS 16 million per month, and thousands of additional families receive monthly assistance with baby food compounds.

Minister of Welfare and Social Security, Ya'akov Margi: "It is an intolerable situation that must be taken into account. I have instructed professionals to present to me as soon as possible a plan to eradicate poverty, and to improve the state of food insecurity in Israel. As soon as the plan is received, I will demand that there be an urgent discussion on this in the government."

"unlikely situation"

According to the Director General of the National Insurance, Yarona Shalom: "This is an unlikely situation in a developed country, and we see this report as a policy tool to promote legislation, both regarding the increase of allowances and the easing of the parameters for receiving subsistence allowances.

In the coming days, the National Insurance Institute will present to the decision-makers some solutions to help the weak populations in Israeli society."

Mandi Beloy, CEO of Eshel Chabad, operator of the project for food security: "The project is the spearhead in the war on hunger in Israel. The recent period has pushed many families into food insecurity. The project in cooperation with the local authorities, the Ministry of Welfare and the Friendship Foundation operates in an equitable and cooperative manner In order to eradicate hunger in Israel."

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