Overview
- The 2024 NII report finds 27.1% of Israeli households—about 968,000 families or 2.8 million people—experienced food insecurity.
- The rate fell from 30.8% in 2023, a decline the institute partly attributes to evacuations that provided regular meals during the war.
- Disparities are stark, with 58% of Arab households, 25% of haredi households, and 37% of Jerusalem households affected, and nearly 10% facing very low food security.
- Children are hardest hit at 31.7% and seniors at 22.8%, while 26.5% of families report they cannot afford healthy food, with higher rates in haredi and Arab sectors.
- Income is a powerful predictor, with 47.6% of the lowest quintile food-insecure versus 9.5% in the highest, prompting NII calls for bigger food-aid budgets, expanded school meals, and welfare updates tied to living costs.