Feeding one pensioner at a time as they queue for monthly grants
Thando Nondywana A feeding scheme that initially started on Whatsapp to raise funds for ingredients has fast taken off as a beacon of hope for pensioners in the local communities of Orlando East and Meadowlands. The Soweto-based charity has been feeding pensioners in long queues at the Post Office every month since September 2021. The
A feeding scheme that initially started on Whatsapp to raise funds for ingredients has fast taken off as a beacon of hope for pensioners in the local communities of Orlando East and Meadowlands.
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The Soweto-based charity has been feeding pensioners in long queues at the Post Office every month since September 2021.
The newly registered NPO, Pensioners Feeding Group (PFG) founder, Lerato Thusi said she identified the need to provide meals to pensioners in her surrounding communities, who often wait several hours in line on empty stomachs for their monthly SASSA grants.
“Our grannies and grandpas are the backbones of our communities – the ones who never stop loving and providing for their families,” said Thusi. “The Pensioners Feeding Group exists so that we can give back to those who have given so selflessly to us. By providing them with a meal while they wait in long queues to get their monthly grant, we are giving back to them one meal at a time.”
In its early inception, the group of friends started working out of Thusi’s home kitchen, and in the first month were able to hand out 430 meals to pensioners. The charity feeding scheme is currently serving almost 2,000 meals a month.
Thusi said the aim of the scheme was to give and positively change the pensioner’s experiences when collecting their grant.
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“We know that pensioners wait in long queues, most of them start queuing from as early as 5:00am and wait for the post office to open at 7:30am for them to be paid their grant. Many of them are there most of the day with nothing to eat and cannot take their required medication,” she said.
In November, Thusi’s employer, Just SA, joined as official sponsor to help increase their reach. The move also allowed the organisation to expand their feeding scheme to other four service areas in Soweto.
“Thanks to the additional support from Just SA, we have been able to reach more people in need and are starting to make a tangible difference to the lives of many pensioners in Soweto,” said Thusi.
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Just SA CEO Deane Moore said, “We admire the initiative shown by Lerato, who let her heart be moved by a need in her community and has acted on that. We are proud to draw alongside her and provide part of the PFG’s financial needs. We hope they will attract other donors and helpers, as they seek to serve a growing number of pensioners in this very practical way.”
The Pensioners Feeding Group relies on donations and urge interested parties who wish to learn more about or are able to make food donations to get in touch via email on pensionersfeedingroup@gmail.com.
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