SA Harvest celebrates third anniversary, 30 million meals delivered

Surplus mushrooms are frequently donated by Denny and Cape Mushrooms.

Alan Browde, CEO of SA Harvest, founded the organisation in response to what was already, even before the ravages inflicted by Covid and the subsequent lockdowns, an inconceivable reality – that over 13 million people were going to sleep hungry every night while 10 million tonnes of food was wasted every year in South Africa.

Commenting on the factors that have fuelled SA Harvest’s growth and the significant achievement of 30 million meals delivered in three years, Browde says, “Our growth has been exponential, and this can be attributed to a quite outstanding team which is dedicated to our mission to end hunger in South Africa.

"Of course, we would not have been able to do this without the incredible generosity of both our food and money donors and we are eternally grateful to them for enabling our ability to give service to millions of hungry South Africans.”

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End-to-end solution

SA Harvest offers an end-to-end food rescue and hunger relief solution, sourcing both perishable and non-perishable foods, and excess fresh, nutrient-dense food from across the food supply chain, including at agricultural, manufacturing and retail level. Drivers collect the produce from food donors and deliver them in SA Harvest’s refrigerated vehicles, either directly to vetted beneficiaries or to its warehouses in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban for later distribution.

A representative of NPO Give Food Solutions, one of SA Harvest's Cape Town beneficiaries.

Browde, however, remains resolute in his belief that systemic intervention is needed if SA is to end hunger: “While food charity, which is, of course, one of the key pillars of SA Harvest’s activity, is crucial at this time in South Africa, it will not in itself end hunger.

"It is incumbent on organisations working within the hunger relief space to ensure that while feeding people, they also work on initiatives that will create the structures for reducing reliance on charity and ultimately ensure food sovereignty and independence. This requires intervention at the systemic level, which SA Harvest is taking very seriously with many appropriate projects underway.”