Shomron Regional Council mayor Benzi Lieberman delivers food baskets to needy families.

There have always been families in the 33 communities of the Shomron Regional Council who have needed welfare. In some cases the main breadwinner is out of work or disabled; in others, a major illness has forced the family to spend down to its last shekel.

But shortly after the start of the Palestinian intafada in October, 2000, the number of welfare cases requesting food packages in the Shomron Regional Council rose from 100 to over 500. Many breadwinners were fired after not being able to make it to work due to frequent road closures during terrorist attacks. Other families were more direct victims of Palestinian terror: their businesses burned down, their workers scared away. They are not even able to afford to purchase staples such as bread and milk for their young children.

With new families every week asking for assistance, the council's welfare budget and the social services department are being stretched to the limit.

The Shomron Development Fund currently helps to provide 300 families and their more than 600 children with a biweekly food package which costs $50. For Passover, we help provide 1000 families with a package that costs $150. Each family pays $5 to purchase its basket, in that way maintaining some self-respect and dignity.

Families must be approved by the department of social services, often in consultation with local rabbis, to be eligible for a food basket. There are currently another 300 families on a waiting list to receive this food assistance and more being added each day.

We plan to continue to feed as many families as possible during these difficult times. That means putting together even more food baskets than ever before and having our truck deliver them.

We are turning to you to help support this project. Helping us to purchase one extra food basket, or to feed a family for an entire year would help get them back on their feet physically and emotionally while they search for alternate ways to make a living.

Here's how you can help: