Food relief for 200 families
"The donations came at the right time and we are sure that the children including their parents will have something to eat in the evening."
About 200 families in distress were given food parcels by the Entokozweni Resource Centre-Miag Foodbank services indigent on Tuesday.
The families were identified by Thandanani Drop Inn Centre who takes care of children coming from disadvantaged families in Mamelodi.
Thabo Kgotsi from the centre said the donations of food parcels will help the families not to go to bed on empty stomachs.
“We take care of the children in the afternoon when they come back from school and in the evening. We don’t know if they will have something to eat or not. The donations came at the right time and we are sure that the children, including their parents, will have something to eat in the evening,” said Kgotsi.
Mongezi Thabethe from Entokozweni Resource Centre-Miag Foodbank services said in light of the unrest that took place across parts of the country five weeks ago, indigent families, particularly in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, have been adversely affected by the consequences of the economic meltdown as a result of the looting and destruction of infrastructure.
“In Tshwane, the affected area was Mamelodi, Mams mall in particular. This has led to the Solidarity fund to set aside R40-million for Gauteng to help those in distress with food relief,” said Thabethe.
Entokozweni Resource Centre-Miag Foodbank received 5 721 food parcels from the Solidarity Fund to help relief households in Mamelodi that were affected by the unrest.
The Foodbank together with the Department of Social Development has been engaging local leaders, including ward councillors, churches and non-profit organisations to identify families in dire need of food relief. These families will be serviced over eight days.
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Thabethe said to date the Foodbank has serviced 2 860 families with food parcels to the value of R700.
Over and above the food parcels that came as a result of the Solidarity fund, the food bank gives food parcels monthly to 1346 families across the city of Tshwane.
He said that citizens in need of food relief should contact the Gauteng premier’s hotline number as a central point of receiving referrals and cases for food. They then send the list to respective food banks across the province as per the address of the citizen who lodged a case for food. Their number is 086 00 11 000.
He concluded that the core business of Entokozweni Resource Centre-Miag Foodbank was poverty alleviation and development.
The Foodbank has over 10 years of fighting poverty.
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