Israel’s social security Institute published a new report this Tuesday morning on the state of food security in Israel. The last report published on the subject was in 2016, and before that in 2012. "The findings from the survey show a general improvement in the nutritional security situation in the population and its results are consistent with the findings of the poverty and inequality report," the National Insurance says.
However, despite the improvement, the data indicates a disturbing reality for many Israelis, 522,000 Israeli families live with food insecurity, and about half of them, 265,000 are classified as being in the “severe” food insecurity category and most of these families include children. The estimated number of people included in that term is just short of 1 million citizens, with two-thirds being children.
Imagine going to bed hungry every night, or missing meals so you can afford medication. For one quarter of Israel’s elderly population, food insecurity is a sad reality.
— CBN Israel (@cbnisraelaid) January 11, 2023
Learn more about how you can help the elderly in Israel. https://t.co/6q6xb9ktzb
The social security institute emphasized that the survey was conducted in the first half of 2021, before the termination of the special unemployment allowances given to most of the unemployed and those going on sick leave during 2020 due to COVID. "The findings show that in 2021, the year that continued the health and economic crisis that began in March 2020 [COVID-19], the level of nutritional security in the population increased."
The data of the report shows that the proportion of families living in food insecurity decreased in from 18.1% in 2016 to 16.2% in 2021. The decrease in severe food insecurity was more moderate, from 8.9% of families in 2016, to 8.2% of them in 2021. "Despite the improvement, about 16% of the families and about 21% of the children live in food insecurity and are mainly concentrated in the population living in the Jerusalem district and the northern and southern periphery areas," the report explained.
The document also notes that "a fifth of the children in the Jerusalem and northern districts live in continuous food insecurity. Also, food insecurity is mainly concentrated in the Arab population and among the recipients of subsistence allowances [food stamps], the income guarantee allowance [welfare], and the disability allowance." The ultra-Orthodox Jewish community makes up the majority of citizens that fall into these categories.
State study finds nearly 1 million Israelis suffered from food insecurity in 2021 https://t.co/xwqtMaZOQF
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) January 17, 2023
"There is an improvement, but it is minor," emphasizes Prof. Roni Strier, chairman of the National Council for Food Security. "There are still half a million people living in food insecurity and half of them in severe food insecurity. When I talk about severe food insecurity, I'm talking about skipping meals for survival, that's 320,000 children who come to school hungry."
It is worth noting that despite Israel being in a relatively good position in terms of nutrition security, in the same ballpark as The United Kingdom for example, the issue is of much importance to many Israelis, who ideologically strive for the numbers to be as close to zero as possible.
