The "Kibbutz-Style" Meal System: How an Internal Document Describes Hidden Surplus

On July 20, 2016, at 19:23, Alon Rosenfeld (alonrozbb@gmail.com) sent an email to Anna Nuzbroy at the address bb.calgary@gmail.com. The subject line read: “anna, for translation. secret. thanks.” The email contained a Google Docs link. The signature: “נצליח” - “we will succeed.”

The document Rosenfeld asked to have translated in secret was a financial plan for a new meal payment system at the Bnei Baruch center in Petah Tikva. Below is its full text in English.

Document: Full Text

The idea of the "kibbutz" payment system

In order to radically simplify the payment system for meals on the one hand and ensure constant and full financing on the other hand, it is proposed:

All those who have a chip in hand, including outside groups, make a monthly contribution:
Petah Tikva - 220 shekels.
groups - 40 shekels.

The calculations show that this contribution is more than enough to fully cover all expenses connected with preparing all meals held in the Center. This includes all holidays and congresses, except of course the Big Israeli Congress.

In addition, this amount covers all expenses connected with maintaining the building (maintenance) and expenses for the community.

As a result, any person, whether from Petah Tikva or from an outside group, will be able to participate in any meal, at any time, without any additional costs or restrictions.

In addition, this will make it possible to organize extra meals or meals at unusual hours.

Also, the optimized budget will help improve both the assortment and the quality of the prepared dishes.

What changes?
1. The current inconvenient and cumbersome payment system at the entrance to the dining hall is completely canceled.
2. It will be possible to organize round-the-clock meals.
3. Children under 16 eat for free.
4. Women with children will be able to come after 16:00.
5. The number of people participating in meals will increase.

Calculations show that a reserve of about 500,000 shekels appears. This money must remain with the food department.

Reasons:
1. sharp jump in prices.
2. increase in the number of meal participants.
3. unforeseen expenses.
4. new equipment and disposable tableware.

Data:
Chips: 2100 units in circulation
In 2015, 2,100,000 shekels were spent on the kitchen for food (excluding the big congress) + 350,000 for disposable tableware + cleaning products.
For 2016 until August: 1,021,000 (excluding the big congress) + 175,174 for disposable tableware + cleaning products. Forecast until the end of the year: 2,042,000 shekels.
Total expenses for 2015 = 2,450,000 shekels.
For 2016 = 2,392,348 shekels.
Average annual expenses = 2,421,174 shekels.

Branch	Number of people with a chip	Amount (shek./month)	Months	Annual income (shek.)
Petah Tikva	850	220	12	2,244,000
Groups	1,250	40	12	600,000
Total income				2,844,000
Annual expenses				2,421,174
Reserve				422,826

What the Table Shows

The document describes the reform as care: no payment at the entrance, free meals for children, entry after 16:00, an improved menu. The language speaks about participant convenience.

The table shows the other side: the same participants, through monthly contributions, create a surplus of 422,826 shekels. The pressure point is the clash between care language and closed accounting.

One revealing marker of precision: in the text, the reserve is called “about 500,000 shekels.” The final table gives the exact figure: 422,826. The same sum, two different ways of presenting it: the first as justification for keeping it, the second in a closed table.

The document proposes to “keep this money with the food department”: price increases, new equipment. The question of returning the surplus to those who paid it is not raised in the text.

The people obediently making the monthly contribution did not see these calculations. The document was explicitly marked with the word “secret” and sent for translation to bb.calgary@gmail.com.

In the full dossier, this is one small document inside the movement’s money practice. The broader amutot network, Registrar audit, and family management are examined in the article on Bnei Baruch finances. Here the record is narrower: a payment is sold as convenience, the reserve stays inside the kitchen, and the calculation is hidden from the people paying it.