In celebration of World Food Day on October 16, KFC Africa unveiled a bold new chapter in its ongoing mission to fight hunger – one that goes far beyond its legendary 11 herbs and spices.

At the Biggest Hunger Hack, hosted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on October 6, the initiative aimed to empower communities to confront food insecurity with fresh, localised solutions.

Launched in 2009, Add Hope has grown into one of South Africa’s most successful hunger-relief initiatives, raising more than R1.2b and providing more than 372m meals to children across the country. This year, the campaign leapt forward through a partnership with UJ, designed to spark innovation among the nation’s youth.
“For the first time, through KFC Add Hope, we are inviting the brightest young minds from UJ to participate in the hackathon to come up with solutions to fight the hunger crisis,” said Andra Nel, KFC Africa’s head of corporate affairs.

Read more: KFC Africa unveiled a groundbreaking initiative

The highlight of the hackathon was the announcement of team Cntrl-Alt-Del-Hunger as the winners of the top prize – R1m in seed funding. The team, made up UJ students Hotu Ramphisa, Thato Magogo, Sibusiso Nkabinde, and Shepard Thobejane, impressed judges with their innovative solution to reduce food waste while improving access to nutritious produce.

Their project, Misfits Mzansi, is a digital platform designed to rescue imperfect fruits and vegetables, the kind often rejected by retailers, and redirect them to communities in need at a fraction of the usual cost.

“This initiative aims to reduce food waste and make nutritious produce more accessible to those in need,” said Ramphisa.

Ramphisa elaborated on the platform’s purpose: to address the leak in the food system by rescuing nutritious fruits and vegetables that are discarded for being too ‘ugly’ for retail, despite their quality.

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“Hence the name Misfits Mzansi – it’s indicative of the food that doesn’t fit the aesthetic standards of retail South Africa. However, we also wanted to fix the long-term problem of food insecurity by having an advertising revenue-generating model,” said Ramphisa.

The platform will feature educational and entertaining content that showcases the fight against food insecurity, alongside sponsored adverts“Every time a user clicks an advert or watches a sponsored video, a micro-donation is made to their in-app wallet, which they can only use to donate to the cause.”

The logistics plan behind Misfits Mzansi will connect farms directly with KFC Add Hope partner NGOs, ensuring that rescued produce reaches beneficiaries efficiently. The broader vision is to create a food system that is fairer, more affordable, and sustainable; one where no South African child goes to bed hungry.

Reflecting on KFC’s impact, Ramphisa said,

“As an activist, I can only hope to have even a fraction of the impact that KFC has had on children in South Africa. They have saved lives. It does not get any better than that.”

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