Food Waste in Israel Surges Amid War, Adding to Economic Strain

Food waste and loss cost Israeli households an average of NIS 10,200 ($2,775) in 2023, further burdening families already struggling with rising costs due to the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, according to an annual food waste report published on Monday.

The report, commissioned by the food rescue organization Leket Israel—the National Food Bank—in partnership with the ministries of environmental protection and health, revealed that food waste in Israel amounted to NIS 24.3 billion ($6.6 billion) last year. This figure is nearly a fifth of the country’s increased defense budget.

Chen Herzog, chief economist at BDO Consulting, which authored the report, highlighted the growing economic strain on the public, stating, “The cost of food waste ultimately falls on the public and adds to the growing economic burden caused by the war.”

The findings indicate that nearly half of the lost and wasted food—1.2 million tons worth NIS 8.6 billion ($2.3 billion)—was still edible. If properly distributed, this surplus food could have fully met the nutritional needs of Israel’s vulnerable populations while helping to reduce social disparities across the country.

Food waste in 2023 was three percent higher than in 2022 and accounted for approximately 38 percent of Israel’s total food production, equivalent to 1.3 percent of its Gross National Product (GNP).

The escalation in food loss has been attributed in part to the war that erupted following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli border communities, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were abducted to Gaza.

Israeli agriculture has been significantly impacted by the war, with about 32 percent of the nation’s farmland situated in the northern and southern conflict zones. During the initial months of the war, around 228,000 tons of agricultural produce were lost as fields were declared closed military zones and thousands of foreign farm workers left the country.

As a result, the number of Israelis experiencing food insecurity—defined as an inability to access sufficient nutritional food—grew from 1.4 million in 2022 to 1.5 million in 2023.

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov noted that the rise in food insecurity placed an additional financial strain on the health sector, adding an estimated NIS 370 million ($100 million) to the national health budget.

The report also outlined the broader environmental and economic impacts of food waste. In 2023, two million tons of food waste and associated packaging were discarded, leading to NIS 1.6 billion ($435 million) in lost natural resources, NIS 1.6 billion ($435 million) in greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, and NIS 9 million ($2.4 million) in waste management costs.

BDO’s calculations suggest that every dollar invested in food rescue efforts could save $3.6 worth of food, $4.2 for the national economy when factoring in environmental, transportation, and distribution costs, and $10.3 when considering the health benefits of providing nutritious food to vulnerable populations.

Leket Israel CEO Gidi Kroch emphasized that the war has underscored the importance of integrating food rescue initiatives into national resilience planning.

In response, the Agriculture Ministry is spearheading a 25-year National Food Security Plan aimed at addressing long-term food sustainability and ensuring access to adequate nutrition for all citizens.

This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members