FoodBank South Africa

FoodBank was formed to provide a cost effective solution to the growing hunger problem in SA. It is a not-for-profit initiative supported both by the private sector and the South African government. Their vision is to rid our country of hunger and malnutrition.

Since 1960 the world has produced enough food to feed everyone. Despite this, more than one billion people in the world today are chronically or acutely malnourished. In sub-Saharan Africa, hunger is increasing. South Africa is capable of providing enough food for its entire population yet at least 20% of South Africans (about 11 million people) have insufficient access to food. FoodBank was formed in 2009 to coordinate the country’s fragmented efforts to fight hunger.

FoodBank is a section 21 not-for-profit company with Section 18A tax exempt status. It is audited by KPMG and is a member of the Global Foodbanking Network. FoodBank already has opened branches in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Port Elizabeth, all coordinated by a national office. Many additional food banks are planned.

FoodBank already provides food support to over 1,000 Agencies. This enables these Agencies to focus less on sourcing food and more on their core business of social development. It also releases the Agencies’ funding to be used in other ways.

You can help this organisation continue the valuable work they do, by getting your card in support of them now

Acting with one national voice on behalf of all of these community based organisations has helped FoodBank to establish relationships with many of South Africa’s leading food manufacturers and retailers. As a result FoodBank is sourcing and distributing far more food than the Agencies could if acting individually—and, thanks to economies of scale—at a far lower cost.

The result?

In its first two years, FoodBank donated approximately 32 million meals, with an estimated value of R121 million. Most of this otherwise would have gone to a landfill.
Most of this food was donated to FoodBank, leaving the project to source only its logistics costs such as warehousing and trucking. As a result the average cost to FoodBank per meal donated for the past year was just R1,81 million.

FoodBank provides full-time employment to over 70 people and has indirectly created many more jobs.
FoodBank views this impact to date as no more than a good start, and realises the need to do a great deal more.

Hunger in South Africa

Millions of South Africans have insufficient food.

Why?

South Africa can grow enough food for everyone. The catch is that many South Africans either have no physical access to that food or cannot afford it. As a result, every day huge volumes of good food go to waste, crops are left un-harvested and manufacturing facilities are under-utilised.
In addition, rural farmers fail to make a living because they lack expertise, resources and a market in which to sell the crops they grow.
Many good non-profit organisations already work to remedy these problems. However, there has been little coordination with each other and with the government. These hunger relief efforts have mostly worked independently and with inadequate resources. Until now, no organisation has managed to harness South Africa’s private and public resources to efficiently address the plight of hungry people.

You can reduce hunger by swiping in support of FoodBank SA - add them as a beneficiary now

FoodBank operates three main programs:

• Food Rescue Program: FoodBank receives thousands of tonnes of good quality food donated mainly by South Africa’s leading food retailers, manufacturers and farmers. As most of this food would otherwise have gone to waste, this program is extremely “green”. FoodBank transports this food to its warehouses in the country’s major cities. The branding is removed and the food sorted into nutritional parcels before being distributed. The food is given to “Agencies” (other non-profit organizations that work directly with the hungry, such as early learning centres, soup kitchens and HIV/AIDS clinics). The Agencies in turn donate the food to the people most in need.

• Food Procurement Program: FoodBank uses donor funding to buy staple foods. FoodBank’s scale and strong relationships enable it to buy this food extremely cost effectively. The food purchases enhance the nutritional content of the rescue food given to the Agencies and allow a more reliable supply of food.

• Rural Program: This program aims to address food insecurity and unemployment in rural areas. FoodBank aims to make small farmers viable by providing them with education and other support. A key ingredient is to help create a market for their produce, in part via FoodBank’s urban food banks. The first rural pilot project is due to launch in late 2011.

For more information on this outstanding organisation, contact them on www.foodbank.org.za