It all started about a year ago. Our country was tragically hit by the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the nation into lockdown and leaving many local communities devastated. While some of us were able to see the lockdown as a ‘break from reality’ and a valuable time to focus on our closest relationships, the poorest communities continued to suffer greatly.
By July of 2020 three million South Africans had lost their jobs. Those who managed to keep their jobs (1.5 million) did not have an income. Researchers found that 2 million of the 3 million jobs lost were women, particularly those who were already disadvantaged in the labour market such as the less educated, the poor and informal workers. Many South African households experienced tremendous hardship due to the lockdown. Reports of hunger were at an all time high, thousands of children were not able to attend school and loss of household incomes resulted in reduced ability to access healthcare.
It is from this devastation that the Feed The Nation campaign was born in April 2020. Private funders, Pick n Pay customers, suppliers and various welfare organizations all came together to donate almost 28-million meals! The campaign is now a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), officially known as Feed the Nation Foundation. In the early stage of lockdown, the Feed the Nation team helped distribute 26 000 food hampers for Afrika Tikkun, packing and distributing 650 tonnes of food in only two weeks! Our partnerships have grown to include, among others, Joint Aid Missionaries (JAM), SA Harvest, Foodforward SA, The Kolisi Foundation, the Habana Foundation, Courage, Danone and Kellogg’s.
Most recently, in a partnership with the Western Cape and FoodforwardSA, the Foundation also began providing critical food assistance to those with compromised immune systems who are not well enough to work. This collaborative effort provides food assistance to the most vulnerable in our country. To date we have helped feed schoolchildren, people living in shelters, aged-care facilities, orphanages and under-served communities, all of whom are experiencing severe hardship in this ongoing crisis.
Obviously, we cannot do the amazing work we do without all the support from YOU - the loyal customers of Pick n Pay who choose to donate food and parcels month after month since the beginning of lockdown.
To make a difference you can donate an amount of your choice to:
1. Any Pick n Pay till point - just let your cashier know you want to donate towards Feed the Nation.
2. You can also convert your Smart Shopper points via www.pnp.co.za or via the Pick n Pay app and donate them to Feed the Nation.
3. Via our website, click here to see more
