FoodBank gets hefty donation

9 Jul 2012

Three tons of Max-a-Meal has been delivered to FoodBank South Africa by Massmart, as part of its bi-annual donation to the feeding scheme, which has seen 21 000kgs of Max-a-Meal delivered since it was launched in 2009. This most recent donation was made to the City-Deep based FoodBank, which distributes food to Pretoria, Tembisa, Alexandra, Soweto, Ivory Park and suburbs on the East and West Rand of Johannesburg amongst 377 agencies.

Agencies collect the donated food, daily, from FoodBank City Deep to distribute to various community based projects.

Photo: Hayley Cameron

Max-a-Meal is a highly nutritious legume-based supplement comprised of samp, dried beans, barley, green peas, herbs and spices. The feeding scheme currently supplies food to more than 1700 NGOs throughout South Africa. These organisations are typically community-based NGOs such as crèches, educare centres, orphanages, shelters, feeding schemes and clinics.

Mo Kajee, MD of FoodBank SA, says, "This generous donation reminds us that there are people who acknowledge and care for what we do. Collectively the agencies we work with serve over 300 000 beneficiaries and we thank Massmart for their help with that."

Photo: Hayley Cameron

The group's support of this programme forms a part of the its ongoing focus on feeding initiatives in South Africa, such as Game's Amalunchbox project and the recent donation by the Walmart Foundation of 100 container kitchens to the 94+ Schools Project for Nelson Mandela.

Grant Pattison, Massmart CEO, reiterates, "The group supports a number of programmes aimed at alleviating malnutrition and issues of food security and we are impressed with the progress that FoodBank South Africa has made since its launch in 2009. This winter's contribution is timed to respond to the additional demand for calories during the colder months."