The Coronavirus epidemic brought Natalie Schayiek, a Petah Tikva resident, to come to action. During the nights she cooked countless meals in her kitchen, and during the days she distributed those meals to many poverty-stricken families in her city of Petah Tikva. Thus began "Natalie's Kitchen". As time passed, Natalie began receiving more and more requests from people in need of a hot meal. Natalie recruited the help of the women of Petah Tikva and so this one-woman-factory of grace grew into a registered charity organization, in which you'll find both volunteers, and workers from welfare services, hospitals and catering services. When Natalie's home kitchen couldn't answer the needs of more than 120 families on a regular basis, with the help of Petah Tikva's mayor Rami Greenberg, the charity was awarded a professional kitchen in which it could continue its operation. Nowadays, every week the volunteers arrive and take part in the cooking and distributing of the warm meals to hundreds of families: The elderly, lone soldiers, the mentally ill and more. The charity's managers and members volunteer on their free time and do all it takes to make sure that those without the proper means and access to food do not remain hungry.
In light of the ongoing war, Natalie converted her soup kitchen with a clear goal in mind – feeding the soldiers in the battlefront, and the displaced families who were forced to evacuate from their homes. Every day during the week hundreds of volunteers take part, beginning at 9AM and working deep into the following night, usually staying open at least until 3AM. Tens of thousands of meals are distributed throughout the week, sending hot meals to the far reaches of Israel, from the Gaza envelope to the border of Lebanon.