About The Organization

Mission:

Continuous, effective and efficient nutritional assistance to tens of thousands of families; empowerment and support of local NGOs; raise the public's awareness to nutritional insecurity and poverty in Israel.

In light of the growing phenomena of poverty and nutritional insecurity in Israel, LATET initiated and has been operating for the past 10 years, the "Food for Life" program designed to provide effective assistance to as many needy individuals as possible in their daily struggle to survive through the collection and distribution of food via a network of partner local nonprofit rganizations. In addition, the program aspires to raise the Israeli public's awareness to the plague of poverty and hunger.

LATET serves as an umbrella organization to 120 nonprofit organizations (associations, soup kitchens and municipal social services departments) in 80 communities of all sectors of Israeli society including: senior citizens, large families, single parent families, new immigrants, etc. This collaboration produces efficient, continuous aid to over 50,000 families and 200,000 needy individuals.

The "Food for Life" program is modeled after the United States' largest charitable hunger-relief organization, "America's Second Harvest," with three regional logistical distribution centers– in central, northern and southern Israel – that function as Regional Food Banks. Inventory, collection and distribution of the supplies are closely monitored by LATET.

Food collection for the "Food for Life" program is based on 4 main channels:

Strategic cooperation with the Israeli food industry - LATET regularly cooperates with all of Israel's largest food manufacturers and dozens of food distributors.

Food Drives - Over the years, LATET held dozens of food drives in supermarket chains, schools, kibbutzim, towns and companies. Tens of thousands of volunteers participated in these campaigns and some two million Israelis donated tens of thousands of tons of food supplies.

Food Purchase - Supplies are regularly purchased from dozens of manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors.

Food Rescue - Perishable food products are regularly collected from producers and distributors. The entire process is closely monitored and evaluated by LATET utilizing a logistical system of collection through distribution.

In light of the increasing need for aid, LATET is advancing an initiative to upgrade and strengthen the logistical infrastructure with the goal of providing a comprehensive response to and a solution to the problem of nutritional insecurity in Israel. 

I Am for You

Service learning and empowerment project for youths.

An educational and empowering project designed to instill values of volunteerism and community service among youth of lower socio-economic backgrounds. 2,000 students between the ages of 12-16 participate in the project in 70 educational institutions (schools and boarding schools) in 50 communities nationwide. During the project, students are acquainted with the world of humanitarian aid and are introduced to community activities. At the conclusion of the project, the participants initiate and launch aid-projects in their own communities. Groups are led by 250 LATET volunteers that donate 40,000 counseling hours a year. The three-year long project is designed to train the graduates to leadership roles in their communities and the society as a whole.

LATET Health ("To Give Health")

Aid to underprivileged chronic patients with the financing and purchasing of

medications that are included in the Health Services Basket.

LATET Health is designed to assist chronically-ill patients (primarily elderly) who are unable to physically access the pharmacies and/or afford medications maintain a normal routine by sponsoring the deductible toward purchasing medications included in the health basket.

The program is carried out by LATET volunteers who visit the beneficiaries' homes, distribute monthly coupons for purchase of medication; assist recipients of restricted mobility access the pharmacies; and inform the beneficiaries about patients-rights in Israel. In the framework of the project, LATET endeavors to raise public awareness and educate the Israeli society about the problem of forfeiting the purchase of prescription drugs due to financial difficulties. In addition, LATET is advocating governmental involvement and legislation that will address the problems chronic patients face within the healthcare system.

The program is dedicated to the memory of the late Jonathan Bach.

Aid for life

Assistance in the form of food, medications and the conveyance of a message of caring and solidarity to needy Holocaust survivors.

 The objective of the project is to assist needy Holocaust survivors maintain a dignified lifestyle, ease their anguish and convey a message of solidarity by showing concern and actualizing the Jewish value of “All of Israel are responsible for another." In the framework of the program, Shoah survivors countrywide receive assistance in financing medications, food packages, and are integrated into a social support network. In addition, Holocaust survivors' rights in Israel are promoted.

The project is based upon a personal, ongoing relationship of LATET volunteers with the survivors. Another essential element of the project is the Emergency Fund that allows immediate response to unattended urgent needs of the survivors such as dental care, wheelchairs and adult

diapers.

The project was made possible thanks to the generous support of the French Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah. The logistical infrastructure of the Aid for Life and LATET Health projects as well as the process of locating needy survivors are based upon LATET's collaboration with the Health Maintenance Organizations (Kupot Holim), municipal social services departments, local NGOs and volunteer organizations.

A program designed to develop small business entrepreneurship among low-income populations in order to improve their economic situation, allow them a dignified living and remove them from the cycle of poverty, by integrating them into the business world and providing training for self-reliance. The program provides tools for families and individuals living near poverty, to help them extricate themselves from the cycle of poverty through the development of small businesses. The program's participants receive business training, support and loans for the establishment of small businesses/enterprises allowing them to improve their economic status, create economic capabilities and take control of their own lives.

International Emergency Relief

Humanitarian aid to populations harmed by natural disasters and civil wars worldwide.

LATET strives to integrate the values of universal and egalitarian giving and to position Israeli society within the framework of international relief organizations. Therefore, LATET acts in emergency situations around the world, where it assistance is needed. LATET provides relief to needy populations and individuals harmed by natural disasters or civil strife, by dispatching aid and equipment including medication, food, water, medical and engineering assistance, sanitary devices, tents, blankets and any other items that may be required.

Since its establishment, LATET has helped needy populations in 19 countries around the world including: victims of the drought in Uganda, victims of the war in the Balkans, victims of hunger and AIDS in Malawi and Ethiopia, orphans in Georgia, earthquake survivors in Turkey, El Salvador and India, survivors of the volcano eruption in Congo, victims of the floods in Mozambique, Vietnam and Honduras, victims of the hurricane in Guatemala, victims of the terror attack in Kenya, survivors of the tsunami disaster in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, rural communities in Nepal, and rape victims in The Democratic Republic of Congo, victims of the cyclone in the Myanmar and the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Raising public awareness and advocacy