“Sandwich jams” are big, fun, high-energy, sandwich-making events for which FoodBank South Africa has become well-known. We use them in team-building exercises for companies and occasionally host or oversee them at schools participating in our Lunch Buddies programme.At its company conference in Johannesburg at the end of last year, Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) invited FoodBank to coordinate a mega sandwich jam involving the company’s entire staff complement – about 550 people. In 40 minutes flat, PMSA managed to make a whopping 12,735 sandwiches, which FoodBank distributed to school children at under-resourced schools in Johannesburg.
So impressed was PMSA’s Area Director for Southern Africa, Chad Limbert, that he decided to get his staff “jamming” again after the announcement of the company’s quarterly business results. Only this time, instead of all congregating at one venue each office would hold its own sandwich jam. PMSA has offices in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, East London and Bloemfontein – its footprint overlapping FoodBank’s, with the exception of Bloemfontein and East London, where we do not yet have food banks.
After much hard work by the Philip Morris coordinators at each of the offices, last month staff members countrywide got into the groove and made a staggering 16,206 sandwiches beating their own record by almost 3,500 sandwiches! On average, each person made 41 sandwiches.
On the day of the sandwich jam, FoodBank swiftly delivered the sandwiches to its agencies in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and PE. Thanks to FoodBank’s friends from Rotary, sandwiches made by staff in Bloem were delivered by Rotarian Richard Marston to agencies caring for children and people with mental and physical disabilities. And in East London, sandwiches went to Nceduluntu, an NGO serving orphans and vulnerable children and providing palliative care to HIV/Aids patients in Reston.
Rishaad Hajee, Corporate Affairs Manager at Philip Morris SA, says the company purchased 1,800 loaves of bread, 60 kilograms of margarine, 90 kilograms of peanut butter and 100 kilograms of jam.
“Investing in the community is part of PMSA’s culture and through these sandwich jams, FoodBank enables us to address the most pressing needs in the communities where our employees live and work,” said PMSA’s Mr Limbert.
At FoodBank we believe food is the most pressing need in our country, which is why we advocate for putting food first.
FoodBank South Africa greatly values the support of PMSA and is delighted to be able to give the company this opportunity to serve those most in need.
