{"id":2186,"date":"2025-02-19T12:20:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodwastereport.leket.org\/how-much-food-is-required-to-close-food-security-gap-in-israel\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T10:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T10:07:07","slug":"food-insecurity-around-the-world-and-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/foodwastereport.leket.org\/en\/food-insecurity-around-the-world-and-in-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Rescue: Economic, Social, Health, and Environmental Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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1.2 Million Tons <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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of lost and wasted food was rescuable in Israel in 2024<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFood security refers to an adequate amount of food consumption to prevent hunger, as well as the quality of food.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The convergence of the climate crisis, widespread and increasing food and nutrition insecurity in Israeli households, and the resulting burdens on the national economy and healthcare system underscores the urgent need to adopt food rescue as a key national policy tool.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Food loss and waste is a global phenomenon that extends far beyond Israel, occurring on a comparable scale across most developed economies. According to UN estimates, more than one-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted when measured by quantity, about one-quarter when measured in caloric value.<\/p>

The European Union\u2019s Food Waste Directive sets out a clear hierarchy for managing surplus food, establishing a prioritized framework for action. Each tier in this hierarchy represents a distinct strategy for addressing food loss and waste, with clear preference given to preventing waste at the source and redirecting surplus food to vulnerable populations. These are the most effective approaches, offering the greatest environmental, economic, and social benefits.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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There are many policy tools designed to support vulnerable populations and address food insecurity. In Israel, the most common policy measures include donations, subsidies, allowances, and financial aid. The unique advantage of food rescue lies in its ability to alleviate food insecurity at a much lower fiscal and economic costs. Instead of funding the full cost of purchasing food, the state and supporting organizations only need to fund the rescue of surplus food.<\/p>

In both Israeli and global socioeconomic discourse, a long-standing debate exists between advocates of economic growth as the primary policy goal (\u201cgrowing the pie\u201d) and those who prioritize reducing inequality.<\/p>

Food rescue offers a unique policy tool that inherently integrates these two approaches. Rescuing surplus food for consumption by vulnerable populations simultaneously increases economic output and reduces inequality.<\/strong><\/p>

In addition, in light of crises and emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, there are plausible scenarios of instability in both local and global food supply. In this context, food rescue serves as a means to expand food reserves and help ensure food security during such times.<\/p>

The importance of food rescue lies in four key benefits:<\/p>

  1. Economic benefit<\/strong> \u2013 The costs of lost and wasted food accumulate along the entire value chain\u2014from cultivation and production to marketing, distribution, and consumption\u2014and ultimately fall on the consumer. Food loss and waste also reduces national productivity, as valuable inputs of labor, land, and resources go to waste. Food rescue, by contrast, turns waste with little or no value into a valuable economic resource, redirecting it to populations in need without requiring additional production inputs. Since rescued food retains its full nutritional value and costs significantly less than producing and transporting food, food rescue contributes directly to economic growth and improved productivity.<\/li>
  2. Social benefit<\/strong> \u2013 Food loss is one of the factors driving the high cost of living in Israel. By recovering and redistributing edible food, food rescue reduces social inequality and eases the financial burden on households, while also addressing food insecurity among vulnerable populations, all at a significantly lower cost than conventional welfare programs or subsidies.<\/li>
  3. Health benefit<\/strong> \u2013 The right to food goes beyond calorie intake; it also includes nutritional quality and food safety. Economic access to a healthy, balanced diet is essential for physical, mental, and cognitive well-being and a key condition for true food security. Food insecurity increases the risk of chronic and mental illness, lowers academic achievement and earning potential, and, at a national level, leads to higher healthcare costs and reduced productivity. By rescuing nutritious foods, especially fruit and vegetables, and distributing them to food-insecure populations, food rescue can help reduce the prevalence of food insecurity and ease the burden of excess healthcare costs on Israel\u2019s economy.<\/li><\/ol>