Meir Panim

The best produce in Tiberias doesn't go to a restaurant. It goes here.

Tiberias sits on the western shore of the Kinneret — the Sea of Galilee — surrounded by ancient hills and holy sites that have drawn people here for thousands of years. Today, it is also a city where 30 percent of residents earn minimum wage or less*, and where thousands of displaced families have arrived in recent years looking for a place to land.

Meir Panim has a branch here, and we are proud to be part of this community.
Yehudit, our branch manager, has built something special in Tiberias. She and her team show up every day not just to serve meals, but to check in, to notice, and to care. That love extends to how the branch sources its food — through real relationships with local farmers who want to ensure that what reaches the table is fresh, delicious, and is offered with their full heart.

It is the kind of place where a meal is never just a meal.

*From The National Insurance Institute of Israel's live database

Renovation or not, there are still 500 people to feed in Jerusalem today.

Our Jerusalem kitchen has been serving at that pace for years, and the building finally needed to catch up. Pipes backing up, tiles coming off the walls, and a space that was no longer up to the standard our patrons deserve. So we took it on properly. The kitchen, bathrooms, pantry, and office spaces are all being rebuilt from the ground up.

Every day while construction is underway, hundreds of people line up outside our front entrance. Our team is right there, meeting them and handing out hot meals, bread, fresh produce, and basic staples through a small serving area we set up at the front of the building. The kitchen may be under construction, but the line outside is not going anywhere, and neither are we.

In about a month, the work will be done, and we cannot wait to welcome everyone back into a properly renovated space with new furniture, accessible bathrooms, and a kitchen ready for whatever comes next.

Dimona needed this.

Students from B'Levav Shalem Yeshiva in Yerucham recently came to volunteer at Meir Panim’s Dimona branch. They packed fresh vegetables, served meals, and spent time with the people who rely on the branch each day, including families living in poverty and Holocaust survivors.

Their visit came after an extraordinarily difficult period for the city.

Months after a missile strike caused serious damage across Dimona, including at Meir Panim’s branch, the community is still recovering. Buildings can be repaired, but the fear, disruption, and emotional strain do not disappear as quickly.

That is why it meant so much to see a group of young people arrive from another city, ready to work and connect with the community. Their energy lifted the room. The conversations, laughter, and smiles gave people a real sense that they had not been forgotten.

Thank you, AMIT Children, for showing up for Dimona and bringing so much warmth, respect, and joy with you.