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Our Vision

Our vision is an Israel in which everybody has reliable access to nutritious food.

Our Mission

Our mission is to fight hunger in Israel by rescuing food and distributing it to the people who need it most. Nearly 22% of Israelis experience food insecurity, among them children, the elderly, refugees, and people of nearly every background. Simultaneously, 35% of the edible food in Israel is wasted every year. If this wasted food was distributed to the hungry rather than thrown away, hunger would cease to be an issue in Israel. Cue Pesia’s Kitchen. In 2021, Pesia’s Kitchen delivered one and a half million meal units to Tel Aviv’s hungry residents. We aim to replicate our model throughout Israel to help make our vision a reality.

How We Do It

While food rescue and distribution is not a unique mission, Pesia’s Kitchen accomplishes this mission in a unique way. Our unique method of operation has three key aspects: 

First, our staff. Pesia’s Kitchen is a lean organization, operating with an annual budget of approximately 1 million shekels (approximately $300,000). With just five full-time employees, our team of over 100 volunteers allows us to maintain our scale of operation while keeping costs low.

Second, our location. We operate in South Tel Aviv, the part of the city with the most hungry residents. Our offices, food storage space, and soup kitchen are in repurposed donated shipping containers. As such, the cost of delivering rescued food to the hungry is minimal.

Third, our food. We rescue mostly fresh produce and distribute healthy and nutritious meals consisting of fruits, vegetables, and dry goods. By partnering with other non-profit organizations such as Leket Israel and Latet, and working with local bakeries, groceries and restaurants, we rescue food that would otherwise be thrown away. 

The result of this unique method of operation is simple: nutritious meals consisting of rescued food distributed to hungry residents of Tel Aviv at a cost of 1 Shekel per meal (approximately $0.30).

About Us

Pesia’s Kitchen was founded in 2011  by the grandchildren of Safta (Grandma) Pesia who fed the poor in her hometown of Volozhyn, Poland. While Pesia did not have much, she knew that access to nutritious food is a basic human right and that nobody should go hungry.

Co-founders and the grandchildren of Pesia herself, Gideon Ben Ami and Pnina Raphael decided to continue Pesia’s work in Tel Aviv. With a successful career as a restaurateur both in the US and Israel, Gideon understands the food industry. Pnina, who spent many years volunteering with Tel Aviv soup kitchens, is familiar with the city’s hungry residents and the organizations who feed them. Combining their insights, they had a comprehensive and complete picture of where food was going to waste and who needed it most.
 
While Gideon and Pnina built Pesia’s Kitchen, the next generation has started to take the reins. Shira and Yonatan Ben Ami, two of Gideon’s children, have assumed leadership positions at Pesia’s Kitchen and are poised to carry the organization into the future and throughout the rest of Israel. 

Food Recipients & Supported Communities

We are able to directly and swiftly respond to the call of various organizations and individuals suffering from food insecurity who reside and work mainly in the poorest communities of South Tel Aviv and Holon.

Food Donors

Our generous food donors provide us with an average of 1,000 meals a day, five days a week.

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Contributing Partners

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In Action

Contact Us

Email: pesiaskitchen@gmail.com

To reach us by phone

Shira Ben Ami
972-523655588

Yonatan Ben Ami
972-5232917984

 

Get In Touch

gideon-and-kid

Where to find us

Sundays to Wednesday before noon you can find us at:
Derech Ben Zvi 40, Tel Aviv

Our Team

Our team is comprised of executives coordinating and executing the complex operations and logistics involved with rescuing and distributing more than half a million meals a year, with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers.

Our Board of Directors

Our board includes compassionate and generous people committed to ensuring that Pesia’s Kitchen reaches its full potential.

Honorary Board Members

Advisory Board

Donate to Pesia’s Kitchen

Your contribution can really make a difference.

Pesia’s kitchen has ambitious plans to create an even greater impact across Israel by saving 20 million meals a year. In order to make these plans a reality, a gradual expansion of food, equipment, transportation and staff donors will be required to service the new food donors as well as the supported communities. With your donation, Pesia’s Kitchen will reach its goal of saving and providing 20 million meals by 2025.

 

 

Using PayBox is free!
Donate through Paybox, join us in Pesia’s Kitchen:

 



Or you can donate via direct bank transfer:

Bank Mizrachi-Tefahot
Branch Number: 455
Account Number: 262503
Address: 50 Weitzman Street
Givatayim, Israel
Swift: MIZBILIT
IBAN: 920204550000000262503
Account name: “Pesia’s Kitchen”

 


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