We cook homemade meals for more than 2600 Israeli soldiers. Help us keep going.
We are Raya and Dina, from Naharia, a small Israeli town near the Lebanese border. Together with a bunch of neigbours and other folks, we cook homemade meals for 450 soldiers at the front on weekdays, and on weekends - it's 2600 - 2900.
More an more soldiers are asking for homecooked meals these days (June 2024), as all-out war with Hezbollah terrorists seems imminent. We have enough volunteers willing to keep cooking despite constant rocket and drone attacks, but we need your help to help pay for groceries.
For the weekend of June 28th, we have just cooked a record 3200 meals, with close to 30 volunteers working through the night, and cooking literal tons of food (about 1,600kg / 3,500lb of meat, chicken, sides and veggies).
There are no big orgs involved here, no CEOs getting paychecks, no big campaigns. It's just us, all volunteers.
Every cent you give, goes 100% to buy food for soldiers.
What's this about?
On October 7th, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from Gaza. They slaughtered 1200 men, women, children and babies. Since then, Israel has been at war, and not only in Gaza. Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that is even larger, and more heavily armed, than Hamas, is attacking the northern border of Israel every day, with rockets, mortars, anti-tank missiles and drones. North of Israel is under constant threat of an invasion that may make October 7th pale in comparison.
Many thousands of Israeli soldiers are fighting to protect that border, and a lot of them got stationed right next to me.
When they came, I asked around to see how I can help. I didn't have money to spend, but I do love to cook and have got spare time. So I started cooking for soldiers, and they loved it, and told other soldiers. I got together with a bunch of neighbours and friends, we asked for help from locals for groceries, someone even gave us a kitchen to use for cooking.
In meantime, Dina Bitton was doing the same with "Hamal Bitton" - her family and neighbors working together to feed soldiers, too. So eventually we (Raya and Dina) started working together.
The word spread, and now we are cooking for 450 soldiers on weekdays, and on weekends it goes up to 2600 - 2900.
The costs for groceries are unfortunately more than we can handle (about 12,000 USD are now needed for each week, and we've been doing this for 8 months, all thanks to your donations). We are really trying to keep feeding our boys and girls at the front, and even to feed more. It's so sad to see that more of them want the meals and we just don't have any more to spare.
We need your help.
Dina Bitton is chosen to represent the citizen volunteer movement of Israel, on national TV on Independence Day
What's the money for?
It's important for us to clarify: nobody is getting paid here. There's no CEO, there's no staff, nobody is getting paychecks, not even a cent. Everyone is a volunteer, we give it our all, for free.
The money goes 100% towards buying groceries to cook the meals.
We also intend to post photos of the groceries and meals on the Updates page (past meals are already there).
If you know someone from the area, you can also give groceries directly, not just money. We need chicken, meat, rice, pasta, veggies, and trays that we use to deliver it to the soldiers. You can contact us 0526374220 to give any of those (or pretty much any food, we'll find a way to turn it into a meal).
Thank you!
Q&A:
Is the food kosher?
Yes, we have a mashgiah ("kosher supervisor") who is also a volunteer, and everything is kosher.
I am a soldier / know a soldier in Northern Israel, and would like to get a hot meal. What do I do?
We'll be glad to help! Contact us at 0526374220
Can I give produce, not money?
Yes! We'd be glad to receive chicken, meat, vegetables, rice, pasta.
Why do you need to feed the soldiers? Don't they get food from the army?
Army provides food, but more like "survival rations". For us, the soldiers are like our kids. What's better, to have kids each those rations, or to get a homemade hot meal?
