The Carroll Shaw Memorial Centre will be selling their fresh produce at Checkers Tambotie Mall on Thursday, November 17.
They are one of more than 30 community food gardens in the country to have been invited to sell their fresh and organically-grown produce directly to the public at selected Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets nationwide on that day.
“Market Day was introduced in 2017 to further extend our support of community food gardens and create sustainable livelihood opportunities. It provides the gardens with an opportunity to sell their organically-grown fresh produce and earn an income, while promoting themselves to a broader audience and gaining valuable retail experience,” said Sanjeev Raghubir, Sustainability Manager at the Shoprite Group.
Hunger relief and food security are at the core of the Shoprite Group’s corporate social investment programmes. The Group currently supports more than 180 community food gardens and over 3 500 home gardens, which impacts almost 53 000 beneficiaries. In the past year, more than 2 700 community members were trained in sustainable food gardening, assisting them to grow nutritious and organic food. The gardens collectively produced a harvest of more than 31 500kg, providing almost 100 000 meals.
The Group’s support also includes 18 months of hands-on permaculture training for garden members, as well as water-supply infrastructure, shade-netting and garden resources – including gardening tools, seeds, seedlings and compost.