Several organisations and schools in Soshanguve, Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa and surrounding areas fully embraced the United Nations’ (UN) World Food day, celebrated on Wednesday, 16 October by getting involved in a variety of food production and preservation activities.
Countries across the globe observed the day with different gardening activities against the stark backdrop of about 870 million chronically undernourished people worldwide. World Food Day is an UN-sponsored event which aims to highlight the issues of food security and global hunger.
Different schools and community organisations around Tshwane celebrated the day by embarking on various food preservation initiatives. Young pupils were taught about the importance of preserving food, planting different types of vegetables and other important facts relating to food preservation. This year’s official theme was ‘Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition’, which focused on understanding the problems and solutions to the ongoing degradation of the natural environment.
It also aimed at decreasing threats to the ecosystems and biodiversity to secure a food supply in the future. Several companies and organisations have been lending a helping hand in the fight against global hunger.
One of the organisations continuously in a tussle with world hunger is the Woolworths Trust, which addresses the challenges of establishing sustainable food systems for improved food security and nutrition in the country.
In 2004 the company launched its flagship EduPlant programme, which is a national schools’ permaculture food gardening programme co-ordinated by Food & Trees for Africa.
This year, the Woolworths Trust celebrates its 10th anniversary, and in commemoration of World Food day, Woolworths employees will be volunteering their time and ‘sweat equity’ for a day at 10 EduPlant schools across the country.
In line with their social development and environmental goals, the Trust has donated more than R17m to the EduPlant programme and about 47 000 educators from different schools have been trained in permaculture techniques so that they can initiate and manage sustainable food gardens at their schools. According to Zinzi Mgolodela, head of BEE and Transformation at Woolworths, good food produced in sustainable ways is at the core of their business.
“That’s why we have made a long-term commitment to improving food security in South Africa by increasing communities’ access to sustainable agricultural practices and resources,” she said.
Mgolodela further stated that over the years, the initiative served as a driver of local community development and transformation to sustainable living. “Permaculture food gardens at EduPlant schools frequently develop into community centres of learning where the educators’ knowledge and expertise are shared with the broader community in pursuit of greater food security,” added Mgolodela. This often leads to entrepreneurial endeavours and increased sustainability as food is grown both to achieve food security and to sell surplus produce.
The aim of this initiative is to help boost the productivity of these food gardens by digging beds, mending fences and planting seedlings, as well as by donating much-needed tools to the schools.
EduPlant is a permaculture food gardening and greening programme as well as a competition initiated and run by Food & Trees for Africa, which teaches schools how to cultivate their own food in an ecologically sustainable manner.
Through permaculture techniques, communities are recognising the value of recycling waste, creating their own organic compost and employing biological agents in place of harmful pesticides and fertilisers.
The programme has provided improved nutrition for thousands of learners across the country, enabling them to perform better at their studies and generate an income source for unemployed parents through the sale of additional produce.
noweto@rekord.co.za
