In December, FoodBank South Africa (FBSA) opened a FoodBank community depot in George - its first in Eden. Of the 17 poorest municipal wards in the Western Cape, 15 are in Eden district.
Eden district municipality contributed R350 000 towards the establishment of the depot which will be operated by LIFE Community Service centre in Parkdene, George.
A FoodBank community depot is a community-based organisation that partners with FBSA to provide the facility for distributing food to agencies in its community. The organisation agrees to comply with FBSA’s criteria by signing a Community Depot Memorandum of Understanding which entitles it to carry the FBSA logo. The community depot receives pre-packed stock from FoodBank hubs and satellites for collection by the agencies serviced by the depots.
Eden mayor Faried Stemmet said the district municipality is committed to poverty eradication and the foodbanking initiative. “By the end of 2011 we will have a network of FoodBank community depots: one in each of our municipalities. This network will contribute greatly to our ongoing poverty alleviation programme in the district.”
Eden is poorest
Stemmet said it came to light at the Poverty Indaba in July that Eden is the poorest district in the Western Cape. “About R89 million a month is paid out in social grants in the district. Unemployment and under employment as well as diseases like HIV/Aids, TB and XDR TB remain a challenge.”
Clive Africa, community services manager at Eden, says FoodBank will run a three-month pilot project in the area. “During this period it will provide over 25 tons of food to 10 community-based organisations that serve more than 10 000 beneficiaries in the area.
“Over the next three years, the FoodBank will expand to not only provide food, but also act as a purchaser of food grown by local emerging farmers in the region, helping to create sustainable livelihoods for these producers and their families.”
David Jacobs, the national agency manager for FBSA, says the organisation is delighted to bring the concept of foodbanking to Eden. “We hope that this first distribution of food will contribute to help some of the district’s most vulnerable citizens experience a hunger-free start to the new year. With the support of government, the private sector and individual donations, we hope to build a sustainable supply of good quality food in an area that has one of the highest poverty levels in the Western Cape.”
Readers and organisations who wish to play a part in FoodBank Eden through financial donations, food sourcing or volunteering, may contact Khumbu Zuma on 021-531-5670, or via email at
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