Ben & Jerry's executives join lemon picking to aid farmers

Since the early hours of Sunday morning, about 100 Ben & Jerry’s Israel executives and employees, headed by Avi Singer – CEO and owner, left the Be’er Tuvia factory to harvest in a lemon orchard in order to help farmers in Moshav Tzafon, near Beit Shemesh. In this framework, they saved about 50 tons of agricultural produce.

Avi Singer, CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Israel, opened the morning and told the employees: “As an Israeli, Zionist factory operating in the south of the country, which purchases raw materials from Israeli farmers, and our daily and close relationship with about 20 cowsheds from the south of the country, from which we purchase the milk and cream for the production of ice cream, and with farmers who grow eggs, spices and more, we realized that there was a lack of working hands for picking the lemons and decided to close the ice cream production at the factory in Be’er Tuvia for one day and enlist the help of the farmers.”

He said: “We will continue to support, encourage, strengthen and raise morale for distressed farmers at the hands of workers. Thanks to the various civic initiatives that lend a hand to farmers, they are able to harvest their produce. Without this help, many of them will not be able to grow agricultural produce in the future.”

Farmer Aryeh Ben Atiya from Moshav Tzafon thanked the Ben & Jerry’s team late in the afternoon and said: “We thank you for your help in picking the lemons, we have no words for this mobilization that helps us a lot – it is not self-evident…”