Support local food gardens w/ Checkers Market Day

Checkers shoppers will again have the opportunity to support small-scale food gardens at selected stores across South Africa. Image supplied.

As part of its strategy to fight hunger, the Shoprite Group partners with more than 70 gardens. In partnership with Food & Trees for Africa, the retailer offers training and provides gardening equipment as well as seedlings over a period of at least 18 months.

Greater sustainability

Market Day is an outflow of this, as it enables community food gardens to promote themselves to a broader customer base and sell their excess crops. It provides them with some much-needed extra income but also helps boost their independence, which in turn leads to greater sustainability.

“Checkers is empowering us by giving us a chance to sell our tomatoes, chillies, spinach and other vegetables,” says Oupa Bila, director of the Caroll Shaw Memorial Centre in Braamvlei, Randfontein. “We hope the customers love our vegetables!”

Bila and his team will be participating in Market Day at Checkers Tambotie.

Those in the Mashishing area will be able to buy freshly-harvested vegetables from the Khomanani Vhanu garden at Checkers Lydenburg.

Located near Acornhoek in Mpumalanga, Khomanani is a Market Day regular and will be setting up shop for the fourth time next Thursday.

“We’ve participated in all the other Market Days and they have all been great. The income generated from sales there are a lot more than when we’re selling vegetables straight from our garden,” says Auriel Ngobeni, one of the founders of Khomanani Vhanu.

Marketing- and business skills

According to Robyn Hills, Food and Trees for Africa programme manager, Market Day is also a great opportunity for the gardens to put the marketing and business skills they’ve received as part of the Shoprite Group’s support into practice.

“Some of these gardens have commercial ambitions and this kind of exposure opens their minds to the great opportunities out there and gives them the experience to grab them.”

Find your nearest participating store: