According to the report’s analysis of National Insurance Institute data, approximately 485,000 Israeli households currently live in conditions of food insecurity, representing 16.2 percent of all households.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israel generated 2.6 million tons of food waste in 2024, valued at roughly $7.2 billion, according to a comprehensive national food loss report released Tuesday.

The annual report, prepared by Leket Israel, revealed that roughly 39 percent of Israel’s domestically produced food goes to waste across the supply chain, from agricultural production through consumer households.

Of this massive loss, more than 1.2 million tons worth NIS 9.9 billion ($3 billion) could have been rescued and consumed safely.

Leket is Israel’s national food bank, which rescues surplus edible food from farms, businesses, and kitchens and distributes it to the needy.

It works in cooperation with the Ministries of Health and Environmental Protection.

“In Israel, where food expenditure is relatively high compared internationally, food loss constitutes one of the components affecting the cost of living,” the report said, noting that food insecurity in Israel “is among the most severe in the world,” citing UN Food and Agriculture Organization data.

The scale of waste carries enormous implications for a country already struggling with severe food insecurity.

According to the report’s analysis of National Insurance Institute data, approximately 485,000 Israeli households currently live in conditions of food insecurity, representing 16.2 percent of all households.

Israel ranks among the highest rates of food insecurity in the developed world, despite being an economically advanced nation.

Food waste also drives up the cost of living. According to the report, food waste adds an estimated NIS 10,785 ($3,300) annually to the average household’s expenses.

This includes direct waste, price inflation from supply chain losses, environmental costs, and excess healthcare expenditures linked to inadequate nutrition among food-insecure populations.

Two years of war have further worsened the situation.

More than 30 percent of Israel’s agricultural land lies in frontline areas affected by the conflict, with approximately 22 percent in the Gaza border region and 10 percent along the Lebanese border.

Agricultural output declined by 6 percent in 2024, reducing total production to 6.7 million tons while simultaneously driving up food prices.

Yet the conflict also highlighted the importance of food rescue efforts.

During the first nine months of the war, approximately 900,000 volunteer workdays enabled the rescue of 54,000 tons of agricultural produce worth NIS 240 million ($73 million).

Despite these efforts, actual food rescue in Israel reached only 45,000 tons in 2024, representing just 5 percent of the salvageable potential.

The report emphasizes that rescuing even 20 percent of wasted food could close Israel’s food insecurity gap entirely.

The environmental toll of food waste is also severe.

Leket estimates annual environmental costs at NIS 4.2 billion ($1.29 billion), including the waste of 190 million cubic meters of fresh water, 220 million cubic meters of recycled water, one million dunams (247,000 acres) of agricultural land, and the release of approximately five million tons of greenhouse gases, representing about 6 percent of Israel’s total emissions.

From a health perspective, the excess healthcare costs associated with food insecurity in Israel reach approximately NIS 5.8 billion ($1.78 billion) annually.

“Food insecurity constitutes, at the individual level, a risk factor for chronic and mental illness, and at the national level leads to increased health expenditures,” the report notes.

According to the report, every shekel ($0.31) invested in food rescue generates NIS 3.6 ($1.1) in direct food value.

When environmental benefits are included, the return rises to NIS 4.2 ($1.3) per shekel invested.

Factoring in health benefits from providing nutritious food to vulnerable populations pushes the total economic value to NIS 10.7 ($3.28) per shekel invested.

In September 2024, the Ministry of Environmental Protection released Israel’s first National Plan for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, establishing targets to reduce waste by 25 to 50 percent by 2050 while expanding food rescue operations.

The report called for immediate government funding and implementation of these policies.

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