Nutrition Week runs in October

“Soya is the staple of our basic menu,” Andy du Plessis, director of PSFA explained. “The children eat soya with bread or rice three times a week, and it can get a little monotonous. Reuben's knowledge and skills will inspire our volunteers to make the meals more tasty and enjoyable for the children, while increasing the nutritional value at no extra cost.”

According to research carried out by the University of Cape Town's Children's Institute, three out of every four children in the Western Cape are living in poverty, with approximately 30% of the population experiencing food insecurity.

“It breaks my heart that so many of our children are going hungry,” Riffel said. “I'm really glad of this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of poor children and I encourage more privileged South African's to think about helping the PSFA either by donating money, food or their time to help feed our hungry children.”

Riffel will also be making the volunteer preparers more aware of food safety and hygiene, including the wearing of hair nets during food preparation.

The schools which will benefit from Riffel's expertise are Enkululekweni Primary in Kraaifontein on Wednesday, 7 October, and Stephen Road Primary on Thursday, 8 October.

The PSFA provides meals to over 228,000 children in 638 schools across the Western Cape, of which 90% are subsidised by the Department of Education. This leaves 28,000 children dependent on the PSFA, who then needs to provide food funded through donations. Often the meal provided by PSFA is the only meal of the day.

PSFA was born out of desperate calls from school principals faced with children fainting from hunger or missing school due to a lack of food, as long ago as 1958. Sadly, today even more children are in dire need of support, with global food scarcities and the steep hike in prices eating into already tight budgets of impoverished families.

“Without the generous support of members of the public, many more children would go to bed hungry each night,” Du Plessis added.

The costs of making a real difference in the life of a child are ridiculously low. Through the PSFA you can “adopt-a-child” for one year, at a cost of R235, you or your company can “adopt-a-school” for a year at R1.20 per child per day. You can also make a monthly, quarterly or an annual donation. For more information, go to www.psfa.org.za.