2.5 million tons of wasted food last year cost Israel country $6 billion

Some 2.5 million tons of wasted food in 2020 cost Israel country NIS 19.1 billion ($6 billion), or the average household NIS 3,600 (US $1,140), according to Leket Israel’s 6th annual Food Waste and Rescue Report, published in partnership with the Environmental Protection Ministry on Monday.

According to the latest report by the Israeli aid organization Latet, the portion of households in the at-risk category — defined as just above the poverty line but facing deep hardship — reached 23.6% in 2021, up from 14% at the onset of the global health crisis. The report said these households belong to the “poor middle class.”

The report showed that 651,900 Israeli households (22.1%) lack essentials like housing, education, healthcare, and food, and are thus considered living in poverty. While the percentage is lower than in 2020, when Latet found that 29.3% of households were in a state of poverty, the numbers “remain high,” the organization said Tuesday when it unveiled its annual study.