Last week, they contributed 17 000 food parcels to children in Alexandra at an event at MC Weiler Primary School. This was done as part of an evolving culture of honouring Mandela by giving 67 minutes of one’s time in whatever way suitable.
Their choice of giving was to enhance food security for children and their families during the school holidays, especially for those reliant on school feeding schemes.
The enriched food packages, which included mealie meal, rice, sugar, beans, oil, and fish, were distributed in the presence of the Department of Education, The Nelson Mandela Foundation and local celebrities.
Tiger Brands representative, Alex Mathole said the food contribution was a continuation of a private and public partnership which started in 2011 with the Department of Education, and entails giving back 5 percent of the company’s profits for corporate social responsibility initiatives.
“The food packages are given to all families with children in the 13 primary schools in Alexandra to relieve their stress from hunger. The contents have been recommended by nutrition experts to ensure proper nourishment of the children during the break and in preparation for the next school term,” she said.
Mathole added that the intention was to later take the initiative to other needy schools when government has improved on the current feeding schemes.
Commending the initiative, Sello Hatang of the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it was a fitting gesture of building an equal society by eradicating the indignity caused by hunger and poverty. He added that the initiative encouraged parents’ participation in their children’s education and was an indicator of government’s positive impact, as well as the private sector and communities working together.
Hatang urged the partnership to use the initiative as an impetus to develop another layer of food security through schools and community gardens. “Food security and human dignity will not be achieved only through handouts but through skilling of parents and children as a developmental process to achieve their self-reliance,” he said.
