Kosher restaurants in the U.S. and Canada volunteered to donate 10% of one day’s proceeds to American Friends of Meir Panim, supporting programs that provide food and social services to the impoverished of Israel.
Initiated nine years ago by students of Yeshivat Rambam in Baltimore looking to make a real difference, it is now spearheaded by students of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School. The program has expanded to a nationwide collaboration of students, working in their local communities to organize participation and support.
America Eats for Israel got off to a strong start at Beth Tfiloh, where seven dozen donuts and 70 muffins were sold to students and teachers. They continued to eat their way through the day, consuming over 300 slices of pizza and over 100 rolls of sushi! Additional dollars were raised from students donating $2 for the privilege of being out of uniform for the day, as well as selling special America Eats for Israel tshirts and bracelets. Those activities raised over $1,000!
Some restaurant owners reported that larger than usual orders were delivered to a few local schools. We thank them for their support! We would especially like to thank those schools that took active roles in helping make this project a success, such as Baltimore’s Bais Yaakov Middle and High School, which ordered over $1,000 of pizza, pasta and salads!
Four 11th grade students from Bnei Akiva Schools of Toronto’s Ulpanat Orot worked on involving the rest Four 11 of the students from all grades in this year’s Eat for Israel program. Ulpana students enjoyed lunch from restaurants contributing to the cause and took part in a unique Chesed activity, decorating cards with the after-meal blessing for distribution in Meir Panim’s relief centers in Israel.
We are still waiting to hear from cities around the country, but with nearly all its kosher restaurants participating, Baltimore’s contribution was tremendous. In addition to Toronto, other cities included: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Washington, DC.
A very special thank you to all participating restaurants and patrons for all the generous support for this worthy cause of ending hunger in Israel…See you next year!
To follow this year’s proceeds as they are sent in, or to learn more about AE4I, visit: www.americaeatsforisrael.com