News24 and Food Lover's Market partner to feed hungry children

Image supplied. News24,in partnership with Food Lover’s Market, is on a mission to Feed Mzansi

Feed Mzansi works toward ensuring that South Africa’s children receive the nutritious meals they need to thrive while promoting healthy growth and development.

Fun, but full of purpose, the initiative is challenging local celebrity foodies to create a nutritious feast for disadvantaged children, using fresh produce from Food Lover’s Market stores

Nourishing the future

"Children are the future of our beautiful country, and Food Lover's Market is partnering with News24 to ensure we play a part in nourishing that future,” says Paul Herman, managing editor for Adspace Studio - Adspace24’s in-house native content team.

“We hope Feed Mzansi and its heartwarming stories will inspire others to get in the kitchen and feed those most important to them in their own communities," he adds.

Food Lover’s Market stores have a long history of aligning with children’s homes and charitable organisations across the country, providing fresh produce which goes towards ensuring the most vulnerable have access to nutritious food.

Food insecurity remains a concern

“With rising living costs and unemployment at 32.5%, South Africa’s rate of food insecurity and household hunger remains a major concern,” says Kate Marais, CSI manager for Food Lover’s Market Holdings.

“30 million South Africans are food-insecure and Feed Mzansi is certainly in line with our continuous efforts to address food vulnerability through our localised partnerships with charities, our relationships with Food Forward SA and The Kolosi Foundation, as well as our annual Hunger Month Campaign,” Marais explains.

According to a recent study released by Statistics South Africa, the Covid-19 pandemic has seriously impacted the global economy, with food security and nutrition particularly affected.

A 2022 University of Cape Town report reveals that 2.1 million children lived in households that reported child hunger - more than a fifth of these children are from KwaZulu-Natal, while 19% are from Gauteng.

Local food icons

From coastal communities in KwaZulu-Natal to the big city in Johannesburg, Feed Mzansi has partnered with Ayabonga Gope, Errieda Du Toit, and Reuben Riffel, among others, who’ll be visiting charities like Durbanville Children’s Home, Leliebloem House, Lungi’s Kitchen and Khayalethu Youth Centre.

While these local food icons are used to feeding ardent food critics in fine-dining environments, how will they fare when tasked with feeding hundreds of children a delicious, nutritious meal on a budget?

Follow the journey

South Africans can find out more by following the Feed Mzansi journey across the country.

From August to October 2022, readers stand to win weekly Food Lover’s Market vouchers to the value of R2,000 by voting for their favourite foodie’s video. The chef who receives the most votes will receive R25,000 to go toward that featured NGO or charity organisation.

You can follow Food Lover’s Market’s road trip with a difference here