The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is allocating more than NIS 24 million ($7.9 million) to provide food and clothing to some 150,000 people in Israel for the High Holy Days season, the organization said last week.

IFCJ, which receives the bulk of its funding from American Christian supporters, said that its annual holiday assistance programs have grown increasingly critical as the past three years of war have exacerbated poverty issues in Israel. A survey commissioned by IFCJ in July, which was conducted by the firm Geocartography, found that 42% of respondents said that their financial situation had worsened since the start of the war, compared to 10% that said it had improved. Ahead of the High Holy Days, which are traditionally marked by festive meals, nearly two-thirds of respondents said that they had to cut their spending in order to pay for basic food costs. 

“Three years of war have changed the landscape of those who need help in Israel and deepened the struggles of many families who have already been in dire financial situations,” Yael Eckstein, president of the IFCJ, said in a statement. “This holiday support serves to deliver a message of hope and mutual responsibility for better days ahead, ensuring that no family feels left behind.”

According to IFCJ, the NIS 24 million will be distributed in a number of ways. Most of the funding — roughly NIS 16 million ($5.2 million) — will provide food vouchers worth NIS 800 ($262) to 20,060 families who receive local welfare support. Another NIS 3.6 million ($1.2 million) will go to NIS 800 ($262) food vouchers for 4,550 families who receive support from charitable organizations. One thousand new immigrant families will receive food vouchers worth NIS 1,000 ($328). And 2,316 food vouchers worth NIS 250 ($81.9) will be given to families supported by Eshel Yerushalayim Colel Chabad. 

In addition, 9,550 clothing vouchers worth NIS 300 ($98) will be distributed to families for each child in a welfare boarding school or day care center. And some 3,600 food baskets worth roughly NIS 190 ($62) will be given to families and elderly Israelis supported by Yad b’Yad or Latet.