Veggie Mondays for Orlando East residents

Members of Izibusiso Community Foundation (ICF) are pleased to announce the commencement of their initiative of vegetable donations to residents of Orlando East and the surrounding areas.

The trio, Mbali Masinga, Vusi Moremi and Jabu Mbele started their foundation in 2023 after noting a need to assist with food distributions, sanitary towels, clothing and gardening tools to the community depending on their needs.

This time they are successfully donating vegetables to some of the residents every Monday morning as part of their mission to bridge the gap for local families, especially those who are unemployed and underprivileged.

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The chairperson of ICF, Masinga, said that they receive the donated food items from a market in Joburg to distribute.

“We then load it into a van and head to my home in Orlando where we will offload the pile of vegetables and arrange them well for our beneficiaries to receive them.

“Sometimes we come back empty-handed or with very few items but the beneficiaries are always grateful for whatever items we have to offer and they always share among each other,” Masinga said.

The donated items or vegetables differ every Monday, depending on what is available. It includes cabbage, spurt, carrots, squash and spinach.

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“Every Monday morning when we come back from collecting the vegetables from the market we come back to a long queue of residents or families who want to receive their share for the day.

Although we are very glad that we can assist them, when we have nothing to offer it gets overwhelming when we see the disappointing looks on their faces knowing that these little donations go a long way.

“Since we started with the programme, on a good day we can feed a total of about 150 families. We also have volunteers who assist us with cleaning the leftovers and we are grateful to them as well.”

The trio is asking for donations from local businesses and residents to strengthen their programme and be able to buy and provide food items even on days when there is nothing at the market.

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“Our beneficiaries are grateful. There is not a single day where they would receive the donated items and not beam with smiles and a feeling of gratitude.

“This program is close to our hearts and we would like to keep it going. Although the vegetables that we donate are not first grade, they are still in good condition and they are received with great appreciation.”