Talpiot—When looking at Israel, the “Start Up Nation” and the most wealthy democracy in the Middle East, it is often hard to imagine the seriousness of poverty there. A 2012 study by Israel’s Mosad Bituach Le’umi (National Insurance Institute) found that over 23 percent of Israelis, over 1.7 million citizens, live below the poverty line, something very difficult to accept in the land “flowing with milk and honey.”

Decades before this survey was conducted, Israel’s Colel Chabad charity organization was already working on a solution to Israel’s sizable poverty problem, one originally devised by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe. Chabad’s goal of uniting Judaism in tikun olam (healing the world) finally came to fruition in 2013 with the founding of Pantry Packers, which aims to feed needy Israelis by sending them a monthly delivery of long-lasting dry food supplies, such as chickpeas, split peas and different types of rice.

Pantry Packers stands out from other similar organizations by making the tzedaka experience bilateral—they rely on volunteers to pack the packages, allowing groups to take part in the mitzvah as well. Visitors take to the Pantry Packers floor, filling and labeling containers of grains and legumes, giving them the hands-on experience of personally feeding the needy of Israel.

I had the opportunity to join a group from East Meadow Jewish Center on Long Island, NY, as they went Pantry Packing on Yom Yerushalayim, and the experience was simply magical. The 30 or so volunteers began with a discussion with Pantry Packers director Rabbi Menachem Traxler, discussing the importance of chesed and the special tzedaka that they would be doing, as well an instructional video on how to operate the warehouse’s equipment. The group divided into different stations, where each member was tasked with a different responsibility based on his or her age and ability—lifting packages of the raw materials, operating the different packing machinery, labeling containers and, for the younger members, stamping expiration dates on the bags. The result, according to members of the group, was a unique chesed opportunity for everyone, the perfect way to end their two-week trip to Israel.

“This has been an amazing experience, giving back to Israelis on Jerusalem Day. There’s no better way to finish the last day of our Israel mission, than by feeding needy Israelis, a very special mitzvah,” said Rabbi Ronald Androphy, the leader of the group and Rabbi of East Meadow Jewish Center.

With the help of visiting groups, including bar and bat mitzvah tours and missions like East Meadow, as well as local volunteers, Pantry Packers has grown to become one of the biggest providers of food to needy families in the State of Israel, having been designated by JDC and the Israeli Ministry of Welfare as the official national food security project of the Jewish state. They distribute packages every month to over 8500 families in 24 cities throughout the country, and the results of their work have already been felt throughout Israel.

“We are finally beginning to see order in the chaos… Wherever it has been rolled out, [Pantry Packers] has been tremendously successful, feeding the needy and treating their benefactors with respect,” said Yosi Silman, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services.

Pantry Packers has been working tirelessly to open up new routes of food distribution to the Israeli public. One of their latest projects is a chain of four at-cost supermarkets, where needy Israelis can buy food affordably and with dignity, that are located in areas with higher concentrations of needy families, such as Bnei Brak, Elad and Beitar Illit. They’ve also introduced an online supermarket ordering site, where poor and near poor can order groceries at reasonable prices for delivery to their homes. Colel Chabad plans to expand both of these projects in the months to come.

In addition to this, Pantry Packers is introducing a new way to involve groups in their chesed, even ones who can’t make it to Jerusalem to do any hands-on packing. Dubbed the Virtual Food Drive project, this venture allows groups who have Pantry Packed to continue the tzedaka even after their visit.

“Many times, we have bar or bat mitzvah groups come to Pantry Packers with their families, and after they finish, they ask what they can do next,” said R’ Traxler. “With Virtual Food Drive, they can now bring the chesed back home with them so that other friends and family who didn’t come to Pantry Packers can still join in the tzedaka, by helping raise money for our food packages.”

Participants in Virtual Food Drive receive a marathon-themed web page, where they can raise funds in honor of a simcha or yahrtzeit, and show how close they are to a goal. Pantry Packers provides all of the technical aspects, including a customizable thank you email and tzedakah boxes, and even provides information about the family they are feeding this year, to make the fundraising even more personal.

“There is no better way to celebrate a simcha… than giving back with meaningful tzedaka, and celebrating with a mitzvah,” R’ Traxler said.

Pantry Packers has been bringing tzedaka to the next level, feeding the hungry of Israel while making “Charity, Pure and Simple,” as their slogan goes. For more information on taking part in this amazing mitzvah at Pantry Packers during a trip to Israel, or to open a Virtual Food Drive, please visit www.pantrypackers.org.

By Tzvi Silver, JLNJ Israel Correspondent