Million meals drive for Madiba Day

ZULULANDERS can be part of one of the country’s biggest national food drives on Mandela Day when Pick n Pay and FoodForward SA aim to collect 250 tonnes of food over three days to provide over a million meals for the underprivileged.

This is the second Mandela Day food drive and locals are encouraged to participate from Friday to Sunday. Food collection bins will be placed at Pick n Pay stores countrywide.

Last year the inaugural drive collected food for just over half-a-million meals and Director of Transformation at Pick n Pay, Suzanne Ackerman-Berman wants to double it this year.

‘While all non-perishable items are welcome, we, in association with our suppliers, will have 14 discounted products available and customers are encouraged to buy any of these and drop them in the collection bins.

‘The food list items include rice, maize meal, spaghetti, samp and beans, lentils, pilchards, tuna, long life milk, oats, jam, peanut butter, cooking oil, sugar and salt.

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‘The reality in our country today is that millions continue to go to bed hungry every day.

‘Together we can make a difference in the lives of the many South Africans that require assistance. We are inviting our customers and suppliers to partner with us and help us provide baskets of food to those beneficiary organisations who can’t afford them.

‘We will also be catering for cash donations at the till points and customers can donate from as a little as R5. There is, however, absolutely no pressure on consumers to participate. We are rather trying to inspire volunteerism, not only for this Mandela Day, but for the future too,’ said Ackerman-Berman.

Food donated at more remote Pick n Pay stores will be distributed directly to surrounding beneficiaries.

All donated goods from centrally located stores will be packed into trucks and taken to packing venues for sorting by volunteers on Mandela Day before they are distributed to respective FoodForward SA beneficiaries.

The Mandela Day food donations will help FoodForward SA stock their warehouses across the country with staple foods over the winter months.

FoodForward SA’s Managing Director, Andy du Plessis, said the food donations are distributed over six months, ensuring that they are able to provide the beneficiaries with a varied basket of nutritious foods.

‘Our work is to address the problem of food insecurity in South Africa and this campaign is definitely having a big impact,’ said Du Plessis