Woolies staff and pupils get gardening

A group of employees from local Woolworths stores rolled up their sleeves and did some gardening with learners at Mbatini Primary School recently.

In celebration of this year’s World Food Day’s theme “Our Actions Are Our Future” the volunteers from Mbombela and Hazyview stores helped learners plant seedlings and trees in the permaculture food garden at the school.

Mbatini Primary School in rural Bushbuckridge accommodates around 616 learners who started a food garden in 2009. It is currently managed by Grace Mokhone.

Since attending their first EduPlant permaculture food gardening programme workshop in 2009, their garden has grown from strength to strength and in 2014 they won the provincial category for Mpumalanga in the EduPlant programme’s national competition.

“This is our store’s first participation in an EduPlant volunteer day,” said Windy Twala, store manager of Woolies Hazyview. “It is a wonderful opportunity for employees to go out into our community, join the kids in getting our hands dirty and learn about permaculture food gardening while helping to expand the garden and boost their school’s sustainable food production.”

They worked side by side with learners to dig new beds, mulch, compost, plant and water.

The school also benefited from donations of compost, seedlings and tools.

Sylvester Nzimande from Food & Trees for Africa assisted the learners and volunteers in setting up beds in a “Mandela style” garden to create maximum space and ease for watering. He also taught them how to plant a fruit tree and water it by means of a perforated plastic bottled buried at the stem.

Mbatini Primary School is already a great EduPlant success story. Over the last year the

school has produced 100 cabbages, three bakkie loads of spinach, two boxes of beetroot and around eight boxes of tomatoes which they sold to teachers, donated to orphans and vulnerable children and gave to a nearby school for disabled children.

As part of the national Woolworths Employee Community Involvement Programme, store employees across the country are volunteering at 10 schools over the next two months to recognise the importance of local, sustainably produced, good food.

As one of South Africa’s big five food retailers, Woolworths partnered with the EduPlant Programme 14 years ago and has been the main funder of the programme in an effort to improve food security in vulnerable communities across South Africa. EduPlant is initiated and managed by Food & Trees for Africa and is the country’s leading food gardening programme.

It provides free workshops for educators to learn permaculture skills and a biennial schools food garden competition.

“The EduPlant volunteer day created an opportunity for employees at Woolies stores around the country to take action and make a difference in their communities,” said Zinzi Mgolodela, director of corporate affairs at Woolworths. “Our employees are committed to make good food that is sustainably produced available through our national network of stores. This way they can have a different kind of good food experience which is inspiring as it is improving the lives of South Africans in need.”