The former CEO of the Chicago Stock Exchange, the former President of the Orbis Investment Management Group, and the Executive Director of Marketing, Media and Corporate Affairs of Old Mutual explained South Africa's official foodbanking network to invited guests from the public and private sector.
The event was co-hosted by Director of Government and International Affairs at the JSE Geoff Rothschild and William Mzimba, CEO of Accenture South Africa. It was timed to celebrate the launch of FoodBank Johannesburg (FoodBank Jo'burg) - the newest addition in a Section 21 network of community foodbanks launching around the country.
Every hour, three children under the age of five in South Africa dies of a poverty related illness, including low birth weight and malnutrition.
Mzimba told the audience, "When I was a child, I almost became a statistic."
Now a Member of Foodbank SA and on the Board of Directors of the Global Foodbanking Network, he is working to improve such statistics.
Since the 1960s, this country has produced enough food to feed everyone, Mzimba said, "The issue here is access. How do we share with those who have nothing?"
Managing Director of FoodBank South Africa and former President of the Orbis Investment Management Group Alan Gilbertson said, "If we receive support soon from government and the private sector, within three years the hungry in this country could be receiving five times the amount of today's level of food support from all sources."
Former CEO of the Chicago Stock Exchange and President Emeritus of the Global Foodbanking Network Bob Forney predicted that, "South Africa will soon have one of the top five foodbanking networks in the world."
More than 14 million people in South Africa are food insecure and do not know where their next meal will come from, but FoodBank Cape Town and FoodBank Jo'burg already distribute more than 25 000 meals each day to hungry people.
Gilbertson added, "That's just the start. Watch this space."
FoodBank SA aims to open 20 community foodbanks in the next three years. FoodBank Port Elizabeth and FoodBank Durban will open this winter. The organisation procures good quality food, which is donated by the food and grocery industries, government agencies, individuals, and other organisations. The food is safely stored, using refrigeration where required, sorted into nutritionally sensible packages, and delivered to beneficiary agencies such as schools, nutritional centres and HIV/AIDS clinics.
Rothschild said he felt humbled by the experience, "The organisation is in its embryonic stage, but is taking giant leaps forward."
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