About Ohr Rachel
Ohr Rachel is a non-profit organization comprised of dozens of dedicated women who volunteer their time to provide freshly cooked and nutritious meals to families in need.
The organization was established in 2001 by Pnina Ozeri, who along with her daughter Efrat Sharabany decided to take action and not stand idly by as children in their community went hungry.
In 2012, Ohr Rachel became an officially recognized Israeli non-profit organization and currently prepares and hand-delivers 110,000 freshly cooked meals a year.
The organization operates out of Beitar Illit, which is located between Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and delivers food to families throughout Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Beit Shemesh, and the surrounding areas.
Thanks to the dedication of more than 80 amazing volunteers and the current head of the organization, Efrat Sharabany, donations can be devoted in their entirety to helping families rather than being used on administrative costs.
110000
Freshly-cooked meals a year
80
Dedicated volunteers
Our Projects
Daily Food Deliveries
Shabbat & Holiday Meals
Food for Grieving Families
Food for Families
Struggling With Illness
Bar & Bat Mitzvahs
for Orphans
Food for the Elderly & Physically Disabled
What Makes Ohr Rachel Unique?
- Thanks to the dedication of more than 80 amazing volunteers, donations can be devoted in their entirety to helping families rather than to administrative costs.
- Ohr Rachel is run entirely by women, empowers local community members, and encourages them to get involved.
- Rather than sending the meals to a food kitchen or providing the families with the raw materials to cook the meal, we cook the food ourselves and hand-deliver the meals to the homes of the families. This enables them to have food on a daily basis without worrying about having to cook or pick up the food.
- The meals are cooked by mothers, giving the food an authentic home-cooked taste.
Testimonials
I’m a 41-year-old widower with five children. My oldest is 15 and the youngest is eight years old. I lost my wife almost eight years ago when my youngest was just a few months old. Our situation was dire; I couldn't manage to take care of the kids, work and cook. The help I received from Ohr Rachel helped me get back on my feet and made sure that I didn't collapse under the financial and emotional burden of everything that had happened.
I would like to thank the incredible Ohr Rachel organization. I had gone through a surgery and was very weak. I couldn't buy or make my own food, and my family was under very difficult financial pressure due to the surgery. The food we received from Ohr Rachel saved us. Words cannot describe how helpful Ohr Rachel has been to our family. Many thanks!
I have five children and have been receiving Ohr Rachel's hot meals for the past four years. Three months after the birth of my youngest daughter, my wife passed away from pancreatic cancer. We were struggling financially before my wife's passing, and after she passed things got worse. My children were depressed and said that they missed their mother's food; what I was making wasn't working. But once we started receiving food from Ohr Rachel, the children began to eat again and this heavy burden was lifted from me. Ohr Rachel takes care of us, and even takes requests from my children of special dishes they like to eat.
Hadar is a mother of four who is dealing with a mentally disabled husband and child suffering from a brain tumor. Hadar also struggled with severe poverty before her family's health issues, but once her daughter was diagnosed with cancer she had to stay in a hospital for prolonged treatments. Without a husband capable of working and taking care of the kids, Hadar didn’t know where to turn. When she called her voice was trembling. Now with all that's going on, at least she doesn't need to worry about how she will feed her kids their next meal.
Nir Gozlani