Bread for Israel

Bread for Israel has a very clearly defined mission. Our goal is to alleviate child hunger in Israel. The organization was started when the child of an American family in Jerusalem noticed that some of her classmates were coming to school without a sandwich to eat. She went home and told her parents who did some research and discovered that this was not an isolated occurrence. They realized that there are numerous children in many cities across Israel coming to school without sandwiches. In some families the children take turns with their siblings for the privilege of eating, and bring a sandwich on alternating days. Children who are hungry can’t learn well, can’t sleep well and can’t develop properly. A few community activists came together to discuss the problem. The solution they reached was bread. Filling on the stomach, easy to transport and distribute, and available at a reasonable price. Together they arranged some initial funding, and got out the first batch of bread. In that first distribution in December of 2013, bread was distributed to 22 locations. Since 2013 our organization has experienced constant organic growth. We have been steadily increasing our bread distributions, vetting and adding new locations (we currently have over 250 distribution spots) , as well as growing the current distribution points. New neighborhoods are constantly reaching out to BFI requesting that their neighborhood also be added on to get bread. The overhead costs for running BFI are paid for by private donors so that 100% of donations go towards feeding children. Our headquarters maintains a close connection to four large bakeries in Israel. Working with multiple bakeries allows us to ensure competitive rates for the cost of each loaf so that we get the cheapest pricing for the organization. In addition as we order in huge quantities we get wholesale rates, cheaper than the grocery stores. The Bakeries deliver the bread to each location and the coordinators handle the rest of the distribution process. Bread is entirely funded by donations, no recipient is charged for taking loaves of bread.