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What a roller-coaster year! We began 2011 with a crisis. The project ran out of unrestricted funding, the Managing Director resigned, and I was asked to replace him on a voluntary basis.
Thanks to emergency funding and continuing food donations from our corporate partners, the project survived. We undertook a painful but necessary process to downsize our expenses but not our capacity. We refined our services, eliminated non-core activities, and improved our relationship with some major food donors, government, and key financial supporters.
All this left us leaner and better. It took an incredible effort from our Board, staff and many other supporters. Thank you to everyone who played their part!
We have initiated important steps to eventually place the project on a more secure and sustainable financial footing. In particular, we hope to reduce our reliance on financial donations. We're determined to ensure that our future focus will be on growth to feed more people, not survival. In this regard, next month we aim to tell you about two new food banks.
 I am delighted to announce the appointment of Mohamed ("Mo") Kajee as our Managing Director with immediate effect. Mo is a hugely experienced and capable man and you can read more about him here. Mo will lead FoodBank SA's operations and growth. I remain a Director of FoodBank SA and, for now, the voluntary Managing Director of the FoodBank Foundation. I will focus my efforts on our financial sustainability.
FoodBank SA is now benefitting from the “Hampers Against Hunger” campaign, a joint initiative between us, Pick n Pay and the Sunday Times group. We are hugely grateful to them. We will receive cash donations made at Pick n Pay till points during the campaign period, shoppers can now donate their Smart Shopper points to FoodBank SA, and the Sunday Times will donate R100 per new subscription. Please support us via this invaluable campaign!
For now, we remain hugely reliant on financial support such as this. As we can donate a meal for every R1,66 we receive, even a little contribution helps. Our website, www.foodbank.org.za, sets out several easy ways to help. For example, you could join our Fill the Gap Club, buy a simple and easy gift voucher for someone, or (in South Africa only) SMS "FoodBank" to 40421 to donate R20 and feed 12 people.
From all at FoodBank, very best wishes for the holiday season and may 2012 be your best year ever. Huge thanks for your support during 2011. We could not do our critical work without it.
Kind regards,
Alan Gilbertson
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