Food Lover’s Market, has launched the fifth consecutive Hunger Month campaign in partnership with Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the largest exporter of South African apples and pears and wholly owned by its growers along with Simpl Juice, Westfalia avocados, Crest Shelf potatoes and onions, and ZZ2 tomatoes.
The month-long in-store campaign is aimed at encouraging consumers to contribute a meal to FoodForward SA by purchasing partner products in any Food Lover’s Market nationwide. The much-needed contributions will go directly to feeding the vulnerable and bring awareness to the challenges poor South Africans face.
Says Kate Marais, CSI Manager for Food Lover’s Market, “We hit our target of feeding one million South Africans in 2020. We would love to meet and exceed that total this year. With 30 million food-insecure South Africans, of which 14 million go to bed hungry every day, it’s easy to understand that hunger and food insecurity is a very serious issue in our country.”
70% of households in South Africa’s informal settlements are in the unfortunate position that they have to skip meals because they can’t afford to buy the food they need to survive. Typical diets are based mainly on starches such as maize, rice, and bread with little protein or nutritious fruit and vegetables – leading to high malnutrition rates. This, in turn, leads to 27% of South African children being stunted, which is indicated by a low height in relation to age – this relates to children under the age of five.
“Through our partnership with hunger-relief organisation, FoodForward SA, whose main focus is reducing hunger in South Africa by safely and cost-effectively securing quality food for those who need it, we drive awareness and do extensive fund-raising during Hunger Month. However, this is part of our ongoing year-round support of this and other organisations – we are constantly seeking ways to address the terrible scourge of hunger in South African communities.”
By partnering with FoodForward SA, the largest food recovery organisation in South Africa, Food Lover’s Market and the Hunger Month partners hope to reach and exceed one million meals through its easy “contribute a meal” mechanism. Any of the partner products, purchased between 1 May and 28 May 2021, will contribute the required R0.85c needed to provide one meal to a hungry person through FoodForward SA.
For more information: foodloversmarket.co.za