Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organisation that distributes food and aid to the most vulnerable, has partnered with the Lansdown-based Early Learning Resource Unit (Elru), to distribute 500 000 meals to beneficiaries of Elru across the province.
The two organisations are partnering for this initiative in honour of Mandela Day, which is commemorated annually on July 18. The 500 000 meals will provide one hot meal for five days a week, to 96 000 beneficiaries for one year.
Director of Elru, Tracy van der Heyde, said they mostly worked in informal communities where the lack of nutrition was a major concern.
“While we have learning programmes, we can’t teach children who are hungry. About 90% of the children we work with are visibly malnourished or are stunted,” said Ms Van der Heyde.
“In South Africa, 27% of children are stunted. We want to be able to feed the children we work with, and this was made possible by Rise Against Hunger.
“The 500 000 meals will be distributed across the province and an additional 500 000 meals will be distributed in the Northern Cape.
“Poor nutrition leads to stunting and developmental delays, and it also affects the cognitive and health outcomes. The best intervention that can be made, is between the age groups of zero and two, and also nutrition for pregnant women,” she said.
Shanaaz Stoffberg, branch development manager of Rise Against Hunger, said they decided to partner with Elru, as they had been doing training and providing learning resources for 40 years in the early childhood development sector.
“Our core focus is also early childhood development. By partnering with them, we are able to assist their beneficiaries. We can only achieve our goals, mission and vision to eradicate hunger by 2030, if we partner with strong organisations like Elru.
“The food is not just a hot meal, but provides adequate nutrition for the day. Malnutrition has long-term effects. One pack of food can feed 10 children or six adults, and there are multi-vitamins in all the meals,” Ms Stoffberg said.
About 100 volunteers will assist with packing, sorting and distributing the food. The 500 000 meals weigh 40 tons. One meal costs R2.90.
Said Ms Van der Heyde: “We are extremely grateful to Rise Against Hunger, as it is going to make a big difference in our communities. We have been doing it unfunded and we could not reach all, but now we can and it is just so amazing.”