This lockdown period has been tough for many but some charitable organisations are moving faster than ever.
Nosh Food Rescue has started an initiative to help feed those in need during the coronavirus lockdown period and beyond called Chefs with Compassion. Hanneke van Linge of Nosh Food Rescue said that the project has helped to feed thousands of people in the wider Johannesburg region and is now being brought to a national level.
Chefs with Compassion was founded at the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic through the efforts of Van Linge, chef Philippe Frydman, and Matthew Abraham of Thava Indian Restaurant in Norwood, who were connected by Caroline McCann of Braeside Meat Market in Greenside.
“We started cooking 350 meals a day at that Thava Indian Restaurant in Norwood that kindly offered us their premises. It was started through initiative and understanding of the urgency of the impending humanitarian crisis,” said Van Linge. To date, the initiative has been able to achieve the daily cooking of 5 000 to 6 000 cooked meals for those in need.
Thava was the first restaurant to start producing meals from surplus rescued produce procured by Nosh volunteers from the Fresh Produce Market, initially serving 350 meals per day, and today cooking for over 1 200 people.
Recently a home for the project was found at the HTA School of Culinary Art in Randburg, and more and more restaurants joined the movement since. “Within the first four weeks, 21 000 meals had been served. In week five alone, 10 500 meals were served, bringing the total number of meals served to 31 500. In week six, 11 new restaurants and kitchens were brought into the Chefs with Compassion family, and in this one week, 36 681 meals were served by 16 restaurants,” said Van Linge.
The initiative also recently received an enormous donation from Best Pioneer Foods of two tonnes of Bokomo corn flakes. Nosh appeals to all restaurants or food suppliers who may wish to contribute to the initiative to contact the organisation.
Details: www.chefswithcompassion.org.za
