FoodForward SA

South Africa is one of 20 countries in the world that account for 65% of children living in severe child food poverty. - UNICEF

The recent UNICEF report, Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood, highlights that 23% of South African children are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition. 🥣

To help address this issue, our school nutrition programme provides a healthy breakfast to nearly 40,000 children at 55 primary and secondary schools in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the North West Provence.

In partnership with PepsiCo and Kellanova, we manage the logistics, warehouse storage, transport, and distribution, ensuring that the meals arrive on time so that every child starts their day with a nutritious meal.

With your continuous support, we can do more. 🌐Visit https://foodforwardsa.org/ to get involved.

This week, we continue to celebrate the incredible women who drive the success of our organisation.

Today, we shine the spotlight on Nolethu Hlatshwayo, our Beneficiary Organisation (BO) Coordinator based in KwaZulu-Natal.

In her role, Nolethu makes regular visits to our BOs in KZN, ensuring their compliance.

“I started with FoodForward SA in 2022 as an intern. My internship contract was extended for three months, during which I spent one month as a general worker, (and later promoted to a BO Coordinator). I have been in this role for one year and four months now.

“I enjoy working for FFSA because it provides a sense of purpose and drives me to achieve the best results. I am not just working; I am contributing to the effort to alleviate hunger.”

“Women’s Month to me is a time to reflect and remember those who came before me and those around me right now.”

Thank you, Nolethu, for your dedication and for being a beacon of hope and resilience. 💚

Internship Programme Update 👨‍🎓 👩‍🎓

We're excited to share that our SETA-accredited supply chain interns 2024 cohorts are halfway through their programme.

They’ve been diving deep into warehousing, the ins and outs of stock management and logistics. 🏭 🚛

Launched in 2019 and sponsored by WOOLWORTHS, the six-month is designed to equip unemployed youth with essential skills for a future in the supply chain.

As our interns continue with the rest of their programme, we wish them the best of luck and are excited to see them reach their graduation milestone in October.

Your dedication and hard work are truly inspiring!

Today we celebrate and the incredible impact and potential of our young people around the world.

Empowering youth is the key to creating a better future for all.

FoodForward SA partners with more than 100 beneficiary organisations (BOs) that offer skills development programmes to help unemployed young people acquire skills, become job-ready, and find employment. 👩🏻‍🏭👷🏻👷🏻‍♂️

Our BO partners offer a range of programmes during the year, while the nutritious food we provide incentivises them to complete the programmes, fuelling their dreams and ambitions. 🥘 🍲

Additionally, our SETA accredited internship programme is designed to give young people valuable experience in the supply chain environment.

Support the organisation that supports 2,500 BOs across South Africa.

To learn more, visit our website at https://foodforwardsa.org/

In celebration of , we want to acknowledge the incredible women who are the backbone of our organisation. 👩‍🦰👩🏽‍🦱👩🏻

These women play a crucial role in ensuring that nearly one million food-insecure South Africans receive warm, nutritious meals daily. 🥘

If you’ve visited any of our branches nationwide—as a beneficiary organisation (BO), a food or financial donor, or a volunteer—you’ve likely encountered one of our dynamic women.

Read more about the women at FFSA who power our mission 👉 https://bit.ly/46CZDm3

At FoodForward SA, our core mission is to recover edible surplus food and distribute it to amazing community organisations.
However, getting this good food to communities can be challenging, but made possible thanks to our awesome staff.

As we continue to celebrate the incredible women who drive our mission forward, this week, we acknowledge Lydia Dipuo, our organisation’s first and only female truck driver. 🚛

Lydia has been with our Rustenburg branch for 11 years and began her journey as a general worker in 2013. A year later, she was promoted to a full-time truck driver.
Lydia drives a brand new 8-tonne truck that was recently donated by Glencore our long-term donor in the North West.

Here’s what Lydia has to say about her experience:
“Since starting as a general worker and becoming a full-time truck driver, my life has changed so much at FoodForward SA. Despite the challenges on the road, which include being undermined by male truck drivers and strikes, we make sure the food reaches those in need. Women’s Month is meaningful to me because it celebrates the strength and power of women. We are the pillars of our families, capable of achieving anything.”

Let’s continue to support and acknowledge women like Lydia who embody strength and perseverance in the face of adversity. 💪
Your support and recognition make a difference!

Disaster Relief Update 🌪️

FoodForward SA's disaster interventions help mitigate the immediate impact of food insecurity caused by natural disasters, ⛈️and brings hope to people during a very traumatic time.

Since June our response teams have been working tirelessly on the ground to ensure that families affected by severe weather conditions receive warm meals at their temporary shelters. 🍲

At the request of Disaster Management and with the support of our partner organisations like the African Red Cross Society (SARCS), we provided more than 100,000 meals to more than 5000 affected families in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal over a period of four weeks.

Additionally, in July, we delivered daily meals to more than 100 displaced families in Browns Farm in Cape Town after their homes were destroyed by persistent rains.

We are grateful for the support of our partners and donors, which has enabled us to provide critical .

Thank you to all our partners for responding so generously to our call to action.

Rural Food Security 🚛 🍲

Access to healthy food is one of the many challenges faced by people who live in rural towns and villages, especially when social grants run out before the month ends.

This ongoing struggle contributes to severe food insecurity and malnutrition across the country.

Through our Mobile Rural Distribution (MRD) programme, we ensure that food-insecure South Africans from rural towns and villages have access to quality surplus food. 🥕 🥔

Every month, our trucks undertake long journeys to 29 remote locations, delivering vital food supplies to more than 600 Beneficiary Organisations (BOs) reaching 175,000 vulnerable people throughout the country. 🌍

Special thanks to Engen for ensuring that our vehicles are fuelled up and ready to serve needy South Africans, and to Tracker Connect for keeping our staff and trucks safe.

To learn more about how our surplus food strategies are making a tangible difference in communities, visit our website👉 https://bit.ly/4dToCF0

In South Africa, one-third of girls face some form of violence, often from someone they know. – UNICEF
Despite ongoing efforts to combat these challenges, perpetual violence against young girls remains a critical concern.
Victims of abuse are often deprived of access to essential nutrition, because of how they are treated by their abusers.

Through our partnerships with places of safety and shelters for young girls and young women around the country, we provide the nutritious food they need while they rebuild their lives.
As we commemorate Young Girls Safety Awareness Month, your support can help provide the care and support they need to thrive.
To learn more about how our surplus food strategies are making a tangible difference in communities visit our website 👉 https://bit.ly/4cbKrNW

In honour of Women’s Month, we spotlight the incredible women who are the backbone of our organisation. They are vital in providing nearly one million food-insecure South Africans with warm, nutritious meals daily.

Meet two of these inspiring women:

Marelize Ponto, Supervisor – Cape Town Branch
“Starting as a receiving and dispatch clerk eight years ago and promoted to supervisor in 2019, the best part of my job is knowing we ensure no one goes to bed hungry. Women’s Month is about celebrating women’s achievements and their contributions.”

Evelyn Sheila Ngwira, Supervisor – Rustenburg-North West
“I joined in 2017 as an admin clerk and became a warehouse supervisor in 2021. I’m passionate about our mission to end hunger in South Africa. For me, Women’s Month is about celebrating women’s rights and their crucial role in society.”

As food prices remain high, millions of South Africans still struggle to access nutritious meals. 🥔 🥕 🥑

FoodForward SA is dedicated to increasing access to healthy food for millions of food-insecure people during these tough times.

By working with supply chain partners like farmers, 👨‍🌾 manufacturers, 🏭and retailers, 🛒 we can recover good quality, within-date food for redistribution to our network of 2,500 vetted beneficiary organisations nationwide.

Food becomes surplus across the supply chain for various reasons, making this food unsellable, yet perfectly edible. 🍽️

None of this would be possible without the incredible support of our generous and caring food system donors.

Our collaboration with an initiative of HelloChoice and Standard Bank Group, for example, ensures that hundreds of farmers with little or no market access are able to sell their produce to , and we can redistribute this fresh produce across our national network, reaching nearly 1 million vulnerable people daily.

In this way, we are diverting agricultural surplus🌽away from landfills, and mitigating against climate change.

If you’d like to partner with us and make an impact, please visit our website and join our community of good 👉 https://bit.ly/4dToCF0

Does your company support employee volunteerism?

Research shows that corporate volunteer programmes boost productivity and increase employee engagement.
At FoodForward SA, our volunteer programme offers a unique opportunity for companies to participate in our foodbanking initiative, while directly impacting the lives of South Africans in need.

Whether your team is planting seeds 🪴🌱in our food tunnel or sorting and packing food destined for our beneficiary organisations (BOs), every effort contributes significantly. 🚛📦
Just two hours of volunteering can serve as a meaningful team-building activity while making a difference in our communities.

We invite all corporates to join our , where our dedicated await your team at our warehouse.
If you're unable to volunteer time directly, you can always support us through a donation. 👉 https://bit.ly/4dToCF0

Every contribution helps us sustain our mission of alleviating hunger in South Africa.

Shout out to our volunteers from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, McCain Foods, The Walt Disney Company and Absa Group. Thank you for volunteering your time and joining the fight against hunger.

At FoodForward SA, we're always excited to collaborate with our member beneficiary organisations (BOs).

Beth Uriel, one of our BOs based in Cape Town, is dedicated to providing opportunities for vulnerable young men from impoverished communities.

With a mission to "raise young men to look up to," Beth Uriel is a facility that offers support and life skills training to men aged 18-24.

One of their programmes includes barista training where young men who dropped out of school due to various circumstances have the opportunity to make a career out of coffee-making. ☕

Their coffee shop, Mekasi Kafe, is managed by the boys themselves and the profits go to the running and upkeep of the home.

During our Cape Town food-packing event, they played a crucial role in serving our enthusiastic volunteers with hot brews in the cold and wet weather. 🌧️

Every penny from sales went directly to Beth Uriel, empowering these young men to earn an income.

Thank you, Beth Uriel, for your dedication and the warmth you bring to our cause!



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To support FoodForward SA and make a difference in the lives of millions of South Africans:

🍏Donate

We rely on partners like you to create a world free of hunger.
Pay donations directly into our bank account.
Account name: FoodForward South Africa
Bank: Nedbank (Tygerberg Branch)
Branch code 19-87-65
Account number: 101-006-9136 (Cheque)
Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ (Overseas donors)

🍏Volunteer

Join our at any of our warehouses & participate in the foodbanking process.
Sign up 👉 https://bit.ly/3TA1Mst

🍏Food Drive
Help us raise awareness about hunger and encourage others to donate non-perishable food for communities in need.
Contact us at 021 531 5610 or visit our website https://lnkd.in/dn5TJty if you would like to hold a food drive.

🍏 Give a Gift

Give a gift in honour of a special day, birthday or anniversary which will help FoodForward SA provide nutritious meals to hungry South Africans.
Sign up 👉 https://bit.ly/4bh9MpL

Our Mandela Day packing event is in full swing!!

Thank you to all our incredible volunteers making a difference today.
Every box packed is a step towards a hunger-free South Africa.

Thank you Smile 90.4FM for bringing them gees to our Cape Town wearhouse.
A huge thanks to all our sponsors for helping us make this day possible CHEP | Danone South Africa | Food Lover's Market | Kellanova | Lactalis group | Mondelēz International | an initiative of Standard Bank Group and HelloChoice | Pick n Pay | Premier FMCG Pty Ltd | | | My SPAR | | Tiger Brands | &Ashton | Ardagh Glass Packaging - Africa | | Boston Scientific | Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages | PepsiCo | Sanlam Webtickets | Coronation Fund Managers

🌟 This Mandela Day, let's pack some love with Smile FM and FoodForward SA! 🎧 Join us live from Landsdowne from 9am-1pm for music, fun, and 16,000 food parcels! 🍽️ Secure your spot on Webtickets and make a difference! 💪

Monday, 15 July is recognised as World Youth Skills Day, highlighting the need to prepare young people for employment. At FoodForward SA, we're excited to share how we're contributing to this cause.

Tune into the Expresso Morning Show - SABC 3 on Monday between 6am-9am as our Managing Director Andy Du Plessis discusses and our impactful internship programme. 🌱

Hear inspiring stories and see how we're helping young people develop valuable skills for a brighter future.

Thank you for the support, Smile 90.4FM! We can’t wait to welcome our amazing volunteers as we pack food parcels 📦and make a difference together. 💪🏼
Let's show the power of community this Mandela Day!

🌟 This Mandela Day, let's pack some love with Smile FM and FoodForward SA! 🎧 Join us live from Landsdowne from 9am-1pm for music, fun, and 16,000 food parcels! 🍽️ Secure your spot on Webtickets and make a difference! 💪

: "FoodForward SA is the pillar of our operations. Your assistance is truly God-sent. We are not only able to feed our children but also reach the wider community with your support and food. 🍲 🥕

“Our parents are mostly unemployed and very impoverished, but with the partnership we have with FoodForward SA, we have restored a glimmer of faith in our children and our community of parents. Thank you very much, FoodForward SA, for your support; it means a lot to us." – Principal Rahab Makotla Mudau, Ratang-Bana Creche and Pre-school.

At FoodForward SA, our mission goes beyond fighting hunger. We also aim to empower communities and provide sustainable support to our beneficiaries.

Through our partnership with Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs), we ensure that growing children get the nourishment they need, which is vital for their growth and development. 🌱🍎

"The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children." - Nelson Mand

A special thanks to our supply chain partners Premier FMCG Pty Ltd | Tiger Brands | WOOLWORTHS | an initiative of HelloChoice and Standard Bank - South Africa

We are grateful to WOOLWORTHS for extending their partnership with FoodForward SA and for their generous food and financial donations to our organisation.

With your continued support, we can further our mission to combat hunger and feed millions of food-insecure South Africans while reducing food loss and waste.

Thank you Woolies for helping us make a difference in our communities!

WOOLWORTHS is excited to announce the extension of our partnership with FoodForward SA (FFSA) for an additional three years! With a further commitment of R3.45 million, we continue our mission to alleviate hunger across South Africa.

Together with FFSA, we've donated 14,160 tons of surplus food, equating to 56.6 million meals and 65% of FFSA's total food recovery last year. This partnership not only supports those in need but also contributes to environmental sustainability by saving 73,632 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Join us in supporting this crucial cause and making a difference!

🔗 Learn more about our partnership and its impact: https://fbreporter.co.za/woolworths-extends-partnership-with-foodforward-sa/

Have you booked your tickets for the FoodForward SA food-packing event? 🎟️

Slots are filling up fast, and we don't want you to miss out!

Book your spot on Webtickets now 👉 https://bit.ly/3x0LEJo and join us for 67 minutes of packing for a good cause. 📦

If you can't join us but still want to make a difference, consider purchasing our limited edition Mandela Day beanie. 🧢

In honour of what would have been Tata Madiba's 106th birthday, purchase a FoodForward SA Mandela Day beanie for just R106!

With each purchase, you'll not only receive a symbol of Mandela's legacy but also provide 225 meals 🍲 to our beneficiary organisations.

Purchase your beanie on Webtickets today 👉 https://bit.ly/4d3rsWL and let’s honour Mandela's spirit of compassion and generosity while making a positive impact in our communities. 🌟

Thank you to our partners CHEP | Danone South Africa | Food Lover's Market | Kellanova | an initiative of HelloChoice and Standard Bank Group | Pick n Pay | | My SPAR | Tiger Brands | | Ardagh Glass Packaging - Africa | Food and Ingredients | | Bloomberg | Boston Scientific | Coronation Fund Managers | Sanlam | FOODS | Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages | Smile 90.4FM | | Webtickets

Mandela Day is just a few weeks away, and the team at FoodForward SA is working tirelessly to ensure another memorable and impactful food-packing event. 🌟

If you haven't already secured your ticket, now is the time—slots are filling up fast! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Join us at one of our venues and be part of a meaningful day that ensures food-insecure South Africans have access to nutritious meals. 🍽️❤️

📍 Cape Town: FFSA National Office, 21 Polaris Road, Lansdowne

📍 Gauteng: Gallagher Convention Centre, 19 Richards Drive, Midrand

📍 Durban: Durban Exhibition Centre, 11 Walnut Road

📍 Gqeberha: 8 Woodpecker Street, Cotswold

📍 Rustenburg: 10 Ferro Street, Zinniaville Industrial

⏰ Choose from one of three sessions: 9:30am, 11:30am, or 1:30pm

🎟️📲Register at Webtickets👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3VWKyIm or simply scan the QR code and be part of this incredible event.

Don't miss the chance to contribute your 67 minutes to a worthy cause. ✨

Let's honour Mandela's legacy and fight hunger one meal at a time. 🍽️❤️
We look forward to seeing you there! 👋

FoodForward SA Mandela Day Food Packing Event Join us this Mandela Day in the fight against hunger and food insecurity by volunteering 67 minutes of your time at one of our food packing events.

At FoodForward SA, we continue to provide nutritious meals to families affected by the disasters long after the events occurred.

We're still here for our communities! Our beneficiary organisations (BO) are still providing warm meals and vital support to those affected by the recent disasters in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Eastern Cape (EC).

Thank you to our incredible BOs for ensuring that these families are served daily, nutritious meals as they rebuild their lives.

Together, we can overcome! 🌍💪