After basking in the short lived glory of overcoming Covid-19, Israel is again under attack, not by an unseen virus but a real and tangible enemy.

At Leket, we are geared up for the challenge and have reacted immediately; our response being based on experience from past military conflicts. Our actions have and will include:

1. Ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees throughout the country, specifically in central and southern Israel. All employees were contacted last night to discuss the situation, provide support and discuss their personal safety concerns; management’s message being “We see you, we feel you, we care for you”. All those who can work from home have been permitted to do so.
2. Produce picking and food distribution has been temporarily halted in southern Israel. We are using the time and available manpower to catch up on work at our Logistics Center, and have ensured that all workers there have access to safe areas.
3. The temporary cancellation of volunteer groups. The volunteers expressed appreciation of our precautionary stand.
4. Reinstatement of our emergency plans from previous conflicts, extending our support beyond southern Israel. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances some food pantries have closed leaving their dependents to search for alternative food solutions. Leket will:
   1. Contact all agencies from Tel Aviv to the south to assess their immediate, emergency food needs.
   2. As a way of supporting small businesses, purchase food from local groceries for delivery either to the food pantries or to the homes of needy recipients. 
   3. Purchase meals from local industrial caterers for direct “Meals on Wheels” delivery to those that cannot leave their homes.
   4. Listen closely to our partners to see if there are any additional outstanding food needs that we can address.

Nobody can predict how long the situation will continue,  and we hope it to be resolved sooner rather than later. We are however prepared to address the needs resulting from an extended conflict if necessary.

As always we are pushing the envelope, while keeping our finger on the pulse of our recipient agencies.