During the 2006 war, 4,000 Ketusha rockets were fired into Israel by the Hizbollah rebels in Lebanon. 2,500 of those rockets fell on the far-northern city of Kiryat Shmona, creating enormous physical damage as well as emotional trauma, especially for young children. For this reason, much of our humanitarian outreach since August, 2006 has been in Kiryat Shmona.

Because of the security needs in this strategic Israeli city, thousands of Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers pass through this area daily. Unlike the United States’ armed forces, there is very little money available to pay soldiers in the IDF. Prompted by a love for these young soldiers, seven IDF veterans started a small food and beverage stand in 1994, using volunteer labor and donated food, with the sole intent of offering a sandwich, a cold drink and a place to rest for each soldier who passes through.

Wear and tear and the effects of war made it necessary to rebuild the Canteen, which needed a total renovation. The plan was to expand and modernize this very modest but vital haven, upgrading the services offered to the soldiers.

Most Americans are surprised to learn that a very high percentage of Israel's population lives in poverty… 22% nationwide and an estimated 27% or higher in northern Israel. Because of this, many soldiers have very little money, but the Canteen enables them to receive food for themselves and often for their families, as they travel back home or to their northern bases.

The number of volunteers who make this project possible is staggering. More than 40 women, most of them over the age of 60, are involved daily with the preparation and distribution of food to hundreds of soldiers daily.

In the fall of 2008 the Canteen was within 48 hours of government-mandated shutdown, due to electrical and other building code violations. Almond Branch undertook this ambitious project, underwriting the financial burden, while partnering with eighteen Americans who donated their own travel expenses, which totaled more than 40% of the cost of the project. We redesigned and reconstructed the Canteen, adding a new roof, upgrading the electrical service, doubling the effective usable space, and adding a spacious exterior deck. The entire cost of this project, was $57,000, of which $23,000 was provided from volunteers, who paid for their own expenses.

We had the opportunity to return to Kiryat Shmona in April of 2009 and were blessed to see the canteen thriving and thousands of soldiers seeking food, rest and fellowship there. The deck doubled the capacity of space of the canteen.