The work of volunteers benefits the many, especially when it comes to hunger in Israel.

Leket Israel has been on the ground after October 7, working hard to make sure that fields get harvested and food is distributed to citizens who need it. As the IDF continues to fight for Israel, many of its soldiers were drafted from farms in the region to fight. Leket has worked tirelessly, but not alone. According to their website, some 60,000 volunteers have come from all over the world to assist in the fight to get citizens the food they need.

Those volunteers have included Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis’ Board President Helen Kurlander Goldstein. While she was in Israel visiting her son, Kurlander Goldstein volunteered with Leket to assist the organization in food distribution. She was fascinated that Leket is pivoting to meet the growing needs after the start of the war, detailing her thoughts in an email sent to The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis in July of this year.

Kurlander Goldstein says, “Leket has made a 180 degree change in their service model to meet the increasing needs of the Israeli people in the last few months as a result of the war.” She went on to say that instead of Israeli farmers donating their extra produce for distribution by Leket, the organization is now buying the produce to support the farmers in this time of need.

“The farmers don’t have the manpower to harvest and ship their own produce, and therefore can’t afford to work their own fields. Leket’s payments to the farmers are keeping them solvent during the war, all while continuing to provide food for the poor and displaced in Israel - both Jewish and Arab.”

She mentioned that working alongside Leket and being in Israel has opened many people’s eyes to the true situation. “It’s amazing how people are coming together through this.”

Jeff Linkon and his wife, Sarit, also volunteered with food production in Israel, though not directly with Leket. Linkon described what it was like to watch so many people coming together to help and cited a family connection that made the situation all the more real for him.

“They don't tell you until you get on the bus [where you are going], and then you learn the itinerary for the day. So we get to Jerusalem, we get on the bus, and we find out that we're going to this lettuce farm just outside of Beit Shemesh. My sister's kibbutz is on the other side of the street. About a half an hour into our work, I find out that my nephew had worked at the lettuce farm after the army for an extended period of time. Post October 7th, with all the challenges and financial challenges that businesses have had, [the farm] had lately laid off staff.”

Linkon and his wife were amazed that just after his nephew had been called up, they had seemingly been called to take his place. “This can only happen in a country like Israel. Here we are volunteering. We could have gone anywhere in the country. We could have been assigned anywhere in the country, and we ended up replacing my nephew.”

Leket and other organizations are finding that the influx of Jews wanting to help with the situation within Israel has really been impactful. In a blog post, Leket said, “Volunteers find a unique opportunity to make an immediate difference, fostering a sense of community and purpose that keeps them coming back.”

Benefiting communities is what Nonie Vonnegut-Gabovitch saw with Leket, too. “The most memorable aspect of my time volunteering with Leket was meeting and working alongside people who had come from all over the world to help Israel and her people. The common denominator was that we all witnessed this tragedy that Israel was suffering and wanted to do something to try to ease the burden of our brothers and sisters,” she said. “I met both Jews and non-Jews from all walks of life, some coming for a short time, others for an extended period, and even those for whom this was their third or fourth trip to volunteer their time.”

The fact that Leket had also attracted non- Jewish volunteers was very meaningful to Vonnegut-Gabovitch. “I was especially moved by a very young non-Jewish woman who came to volunteer, knowing nobody. She told me that she felt a strong pull to aid this nation she had admired since childhood.”

As Israel stands strong in the face of continued attack from Hamas, Leket and its volunteers are also standing strong in helping where it matters - on the ground to feed the nation. Vonnegut-Gabovitch sums her experience up by reflecting on how volunteering can really make a difference.

“It was a reminder that there are many wonderful people pulling for Israel because of what [the country] stands for.”

The country of Israel stands for hope.