LEADING South African retailer Woolworths set out to make a meaningful difference with a number of initiatives aimed at learners to commemorate World Food Day on Friday, 16 October.
Woolworths focused on creating awareness about food security and integrating sustainable living skills into the school’s curriculum.
Last year the company contributed R2.4 million to the support of sustainable food security practices through EduPlant – a permaculture food gardening and greening programme and competition initiated and run by Food & Trees for Africa.
The programme teaches schools to develop permaculture food gardens that serve as a living classroom and entrench sustainable living skills in the community. Skills development for food security awareness starts at school level
This year, a number of employees volunteered days at EduPlant schools across the country which reinforced the company’s commitment to developing sustainable life skills by helping to plant and harvest food crops.
Zinzi Mgolodela, Head of Transformation at Woolworths, said the company remains committed to improving food security in South Africa, by increasing communities’ access to sustainable agricultural practices and resources.
“Food security is an imperative in a developing economy such as ours and that is why we have supported EduPlant for the last 12 years. It is important that from an early age, children learn about sustainable living so that they adopt these practices as integral to daily life.
“We have made a long-term commitment to support the emergence of sustainable food systems, and through our educational programmes, we hope to integrate these learnings into the school curriculum,” said Mgolodela.
Roseway Waldorf School, in Hillcrest, started their garden three and a half years ago and are reaping real rewards. According to the school’s garden specialist, Rohinee Govender, they’ve always aspired to develop a garden that will teach their learners about healthy eating.
“Looking after the garden means that our learners appreciate the value of organic food. Our learners are hands-on, and they get very involved in the planting and harvesting of the organic food.
“They take their own produce home, and what’s left over is used in the school kitchen to prepare meals and sold to the community to generate an income to maintain the garden,” explained Govender.
Roseway Waldorf Grade 10 learner, Alexander Merle, speaking at the school’s volunteer day in September, said there were valuable lessons to be taken from working in the school garden.
An example of this was the concept of companion planting, where produce susceptible to pest infestation – such as lettuce – was planted alongside produce with a pungent odour – such as onions, parsnips or chillies – to ward off the bugs naturally. The school has learnt that this concept has the potential to eliminate harm to their produce.
“We’ve recently installed gutters in our school to collect rain water. We’re also building a dam at the back of our school, and filling it up with reeds. The rain water will be filtered through the reeds which will purify it, making it good for use in the garden. Our goal is to make use of only the rainwater we purify, which is good for the environment,” said Merle.
Founded by the United Nations, World Food Day highlights issues of food security and global hunger. This year’s theme on social protection and agriculture aims to underline the role social protection plays in reducing chronic food insecurity and poverty by ensuring direct access to food or the means to buy food. Social protection is a viable alternative for stimulating agricultural production and local economic activity.
The first teams of Woolworths’ volunteers broke ground in September at the food gardens of Winnie Ngwekazi School (Gauteng), Kotankwe Primary School (Polokwane), Roseway Waldorf (Kwa-Zulu Natal), Hout Bay High School (Western Cape), Pula Madibogo Junior School (Polokwane), Zwelihle School (Western Cape), Highlands (Western Cape), Paballo Day Care (Free State), Inxiweni (Gauteng) and Siphakamile Primary School (Kwa-Zulu Natal).
During October the rollout will continue at Kutlwanong School for the Deaf (North West), Impumalelo (Free State), Londhindha (Mpumalanga), Mailakgang (North West), Phomolong (Gauteng), Seyisi Primary School (Eastern Cape) and Izwelisizwe (Kwa-Zulu Natal).
