Covid-19: Compassionate chefs produce over 36 000 meals a week for communities
By the first week of May, the number of beneficiary organisations had grown to 28, receiving 11 749 meals from nine kitchens.
An alliance of five local and global organisations, backed by over 300 chefs, restaurant owners and volunteers has stepped in to play a small part in filling the massive need for sustainable production of meals for vulnerable communities around the country.
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In doing this they have ignited a surplus-driven movement that will extend beyond Covid-19.
Chefs with Compassion was born in early April, shortly after the declaration of a state of disaster by President Ramaphosa.
“NOSH Food Rescue’s Hanneke van Linge, in collaboration with Thava Indian Restaurant in Norwood, began turning surplus produce that would otherwise have gone to waste into flavoursome, nutritious curries and stews.
South Africa produces around 31-million tonnes of food every year.
Of that, 10-million tonnes is wasted, 44 per cent of which is vegetables and fruits.
In its first week, Chefs with Compassion, consisting of three ‘kitchens’, produced 2 355 meals for nine beneficiary organisations.
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“In our six years of operation, we’ve come to understand the vital role that the restaurant industry plays in our food systems,” said Hanneke van Linge.
“In a country like South Africa that is marked by both a high-calibre hospitality sector and extreme hunger, we have to find innovative ways to work together and find real solutions to our social plights,” she said.
“A project like Chefs with Compassion has long been part of our bigger picture and the current lockdown situation realised and scaled our pilot project with Chef Philippe Frydman and Thava Restaurant faster than we could ever have anticipated. We now have solid proof of concept: it is a powerful and efficient way to distribute delicious, nourishing food to where it is needed most.”
As word spread via social media and the media, the concept of providing rescued produce to compassionate chefs and kitchens to cook up for Joburg’s vulnerable communities took root.
The opportunity to expand the movement into a national initiative was realised with the formation of an alliance between NOSH Food Rescue NPC, Slow Food International, the South African Chefs Association, Slow Food Chefs Alliance SA, and Strategic PR. Subsequently, Chefs with Compassion, a new Not for Profit Company, was formed.
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By the first week of May, the number of beneficiary organisations had grown to 28, receiving 11 749 meals from nine kitchens.
“It was at this point that the call went out for volunteers and a warehouse from which we could expand the operation. The response was overwhelming. Chefs all over the country extended their hands and their hearts to assist, and the HTA School of Culinary Art provided the space for Chefs with Compassion to grow.
Funding was allocated by the South African Chefs Association to provide the boost needed, and in its fifth week, Chefs with Compassion grew production by 212,2 per cent, from nine kitchens to 22, and from 11 749 meals to 36 681 meals in a single week.
The restaurant pioneer who began the wave, Thava Indian Restaurant, is today producing 1 500 meals a day.
The concept behind Chefs with Compassion is a simple one, to rescue produce, provide it to compassionate chefs and kitchens, and connect them with beneficiary organisations.
For more information visit www.chefswithcompassion.org.za, or email info@chefswithcompassion.org.za.
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