Kosher restaurants across the U.S. 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.

Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, America Eats for Israel (AE4I) was initiated by students of Yeshivat Rambam in Baltimore looking to make a real difference. It is now coordinated by student volunteers at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School.

AE4I got off to a strong start at Beth Tfiloh, where several dozen donuts and muffins were sold to students and teachers. These sales – and as the day continued, sales of pizza and sushi along with income from other school-based intitiatives – raised over $1,000!

We would also like to thank Baltimore’s Bnos Yisrael and Bais Yaakov Schools for taking active roles in making this project a success!

We are still waiting to hear from cities around the country, but with sixteen restaurants participating, Baltimore’s contribution was tremendous. Other cities included: Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; St. Louis, MO; Teaneck, NJ and Washington, DC.

“Our goal for the day is not only to raise money for those in need, but to raise awareness about the severe poverty issue in Israel,” states AE4I co-chair Dani Meyer. In 2013, AE4I raised over $10,500 from more than 40 restaurants in 10 different states. “This year, we increased our AE4I goal to $15,000,” continues Dani, a senior at Beth Tfiloh High School.

“It is a day when you will see people from all segments of the community – students in uniform from Beth Tfiloh, Kreiger Schechter, Bnos Yisrael and Bais Yaakov, amongst others – and it is wonderful to see our community united for a common cause,” says AE4I co-chair Lani Roskes, also a Beth Tfiloh senior.

Thanks go out to Mrs. Laurie Austen, AE4I faculty coordinator. A very special thank you to all participating restaurants and patrons for their generous support for this worthy cause of ending hunger in Israel…See you next year!