South African gives Israelis spoons full of hope

For many Jewish people, having a Pesach seder is guaranteed. However, for more than 100 people in Israel, it wouldn’t have been possible without the effort of South African-born Steven Heilbron, together with the organisation A Spoonful of Hope in Ra’anana.

A Spoonful of Hope was started 12 years ago by South African-born Ilana Bank who, after working for 10 years with Leket, Israel’s food bank and seeing how it had expanded, wanted to cater for those who may have slipped through the cracks.

Though A Spoonful of Hope and Heilbron together produce about 60 meals to feed Holocaust survivors; people who are unable to cook for themselves; the disabled; as well as people who cannot afford to put food on the table every week, this past Pesach, they were able to donate 114 meals to those who needed it.

Said one South African family of four who received a Pesach meal, “It was the first time in so long that we felt proud to sit at our table.”

Heilbron started assisting A Spoonful of Hope and feeding 11 Holocaust survivors weekly in July 2022, when the woman who was providing food for the survivors became ill and couldn’t commit to feeding them every week. Heilbron said he couldn’t imagine letting these people go without a Shabbat meal, so he took up the helm.

“I spoke to a few people in my database, and we started collecting meals so that they could have a Shabbat meal every week. Ever since we started in 2022, we haven’t missed a single week,” he said.

Heilbron appeals to donors and shows them a menu made in collaboration with a caterer so that people know what they are paying for and are sure that they are donating food of the best quality. He then collects the meals cooked by caterers and personally drops them off at the Holocaust survivors’ homes.

“The way that we do it is I give people a chance to give tzedakah, be part of the programme without doing much more than just paying the money from their bank account,” he said.

Similarly, Bank and her team of volunteers made up mainly of South Africans work around the clock to ensure not only that they have the food to create ready-cooked meals for recipients, but that they provide groceries for families who need them.

“It’s been especially difficult with the war and the economic situation as a result of it,” said Bank. “We never think we’re going to make it, and then somehow by some miracle we make it on a Friday, and people get their meals. Then we just pray for the next round of goodness that comes our way.”

Recipients of the Pesach meal were able to get some chicken soup and kneidlach, chopped herring, a main meal, and a dessert, all provided by South African-born Dennis Phillips of Denny’s Foods. Phillips said he worked with Heilbron and A Spoonful of Hope as he believed he could make a tangible contribution to his community.

“I lost a restaurant 11 months after the COVID-19 pandemic. I lost everything,” said Phillips. “So I started cooking again. As bad as it was for me, there were always people who had more problems than I did. It was nice being able to give back.”

For Bank, the most important part of what they do on a weekly basis isn’t just the fact that people who need it are receiving food, but that they are receiving food that they are proud to serve to their families. “People don’t realise that it’s not only the food, it’s the presentation. It’s the way it looks,” she said.

One woman who receives food from A Spoonful of Hope each week told Bank that she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had been able to put a meal on a table that looked so good and made them feel like they were truly at home.

Similarly, a Brazilian family of five who received a Pesach meal, said, “It’s been a long time since we felt relaxed and able to celebrate the chag. They made our difficult financial situation bearable, and we appreciate the way it was donated to us – with kindness and compassion.”

“We guarantee that at least they have the meal for the chag and can celebrate with dignity,” said Heilbron. “The reason why we do a three-course meal is first, because we want to give them a meal of the quality that any paying customer would receive. And second, because it’s classy, like they’re able to celebrate the chag with dignity and class.”

Bank agreed, saying, “Giving them hope that things will improve is why I called it A Spoonful of Hope because I wanted people to understand that sometimes when you get so low that you can’t see your way out of the hole that you’re in, the most important thing isn’t even the food they receive, but the way we give it to them and the fact that they get a shoulder to lean on.”