NEW YORK—American Friends of Leket Israel, the national food bank, will honor Jason Rosen of White Plains, NY, and Sam Goldberg of Englewood, NJ, at its upcoming Third Annual U.S. Gala on Mar. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
Rosen is being feted for his 2015 participation in the Ironman Triathlon in Boulder, CO, through which he raised over $50,000—more than twice his initial goal—to support Leket. He is an equities trading business analyst at Barclays where he focuses on risk management for trading and structured products. He lives in White Plains with his wife, Rena, and their three children.
“Jason’s contribution to Leket—first as a volunteer and now through his generous donation—allows us to continue striving for our goal of eliminating food insecurity in Israel,” stated Leket Israel founder and chairman Joseph Gitler.
Goldberg, the other extraordinary honoree, teamed up with his schoolmate from the Moriah School of Englewood and parlayed their interest in music to record an album for his bar mitzvah (he is now 15) charity project and sold copies to raise money for the non-profit organization.
“Sam successfully collected $45,000 allowing Leket Israel to lease a 15-ton refrigerated truck for the year. Nowadays, 13 may still be considered a ‘young’ age, yet Sam has shown a commitment to tikkun olam that is the true sign of maturity,” said Gitler.
He is currently in the ninth grade at The Frisch School in Paramus, NJ. He lives in Englewood, NJ, with his family.
“Rosen and Goldberg both show us that there are many innovative ways to show support for the people we help in Israel every day. They represent the many volunteers and donors in the U.S., all determined to help the needy in Israel and fight against food waste,” Gitler added.
Through the help of the American Friends of Leket Israel, in 2015 the organization managed to increase food rescue and distribution by 24 percent through the expansion of Project Leket (agricultural gleaning) and the meal rescue program, specifically from the Israel Defense Forces and the hotel sector. In 2016, Leket is initiating a five-year development plan that will lead to the rescue of 100 million pounds of food a year by 2020, more than tripling the current output.
Leket Israel—The National Food Bank is the leading food-rescue non-profit organization that collects fresh, perishable food, which would otherwise be considered waste, from farms, hotels, military bases and catering halls in an effort to aid the quarter of the country’s population that lives below the poverty line. The organization works with 190 NGOs throughout the country to distribute nutritious food to over 140,000 Israelis each week. Last year alone, Leket collected over 25 million pounds of food for the needy. For more information, please visit www.leket.org/English.
