National School Lunch Program

During the 25 years of the Foundation's activity, our work has included providing meals for children as an integral part of an educational program. Our guiding belief on this issue is that just as a child needs a table and computer to learn properly, so he needs a nutritious midday meal in order to perform well in the classroom through the afternoon. A hot lunch is considered to be no less than a pre-requisite for successful learning.
 
At the same time, we are aware that a hot lunch represents significant material assistance for many of the children involved in our educational programs. In fact, over the years, our staff has noticed a growing need for such support; in many cases, the school lunch is the only cooked meal the child eats during the day. For these families, a hot lunch relieves parents of a financial burden, and is a valuable contribution to the child's overall health and well-being.
   
When we launched the Enriched School Day program in 1994 (the precursor of the current Milat and Full School programs), a central component was a well-balanced hot lunch to kick off a busy afternoon of learning and enrichment. Over the years, this program grew to reach 65,000 children, all of whom enjoyed a hot lunch in school.

Thanks to the experience we accumulated in operating a large-scale nutrition program, the National Insurance Institute asked Rashi to implement a pilot national lunch program in 2004. The positive feedback from teacher, principals and parents paved the way for the government's decision to enact the National School Lunch Program which Rashi operates under government tender and in a funding partnership with the government, local authorities and parents.
  
This year, Rashi is operating the program for 122,000 children through the Association for Change in Education.