Making every day a World Food Day
Thursday, October 16, was World Food Day, which was celebrated under the theme Family Farming: "Feeding the world, caring for the earth".
The theme aims to ensure that the world focuses its attention and recognises the important contributions that family farmers play in eradicating hunger and promoting food security.
In its efforts to alleviate the problem of food shortage in its own backyard, the City of Ekurhuleni has started a Food Bank pilot project at the Springs Fresh Produce Market.
The project commenced in September and involves 12 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who have partnered with the City.
They collect fruit and vegetables from the Springs Fresh Produce Market on a weekly basis.
The food is then distributed to households and home-based care shelters catering for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Food Bank feeds up to 1 500 individuals from Ekurhuleni on a weekly basis.
The beneficiaries are from Tsakane, Benoni, Duduza, KwaThema, Springs, Daveyton and Etwatwa.
Some of the NGOs involved are the Nigel Caring Community, Sivukile Community Project, Sekusile Ekhaya Labantwana, Springs Meals on Wheels and the South African Red Cross Society.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reported that nearly 870 million of the 7.1-billion people in the world suffered from chronic undernourishment in the period 2010 to 2012.
It is for this reason that the City of Ekurhuleni says “no more hunger” by striving to make everyday a World Food Day.
