Pick n Pay Partners with FoodForward SA on national Mandela Day Food Drive

FoodForward SA is excited to announce that it will partner with Pick n Pay on an annual national Food Drive around Mandela Day, calling on all South Africans to get involved.

The Food Drive is a national call to action to all South Africans to stand together and fight hunger by purchasing basic food ingredients and volunteering their time. The campaign has two components:

1. From 14 to 16 July, people can volunteer at selected Pick n Pay stores in Cape Town, Joburg, Durban, and Port Elizabeth, and encourage shoppers to buy selected food groceries and donate these to FoodForward SA.
2. On Mandela Day, 18 July, companies can encourage their staff to spend 67 minutes at the Packing Event, to pack the donated groceries into boxes and bags at a central location in Cape Town, Joburg, Durban, and Port Elizabeth.

Mandela Day has become known as the annual day of goodwill in South Africa. What better way to spend the day than helping others. FoodForward SA’s mission is a South Africa without hunger. You can help us fulfill this vision.

Pick n Pay, who are passionate about helping others and reducing food waste, is a long-time partner of FoodForward SA. Pick n Pay CEO, Richard Brasher; Pick n Pay Chairman, Gareth Ackerman, and Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, Pick n Pay Director of Transformation, have all endorsed the FoodForward SA Food Drive, and are very keen to see all South Africans getting involved and growing the event.

Coming soon

FoodForward SA is developing a Volunteer Sign-up page, where volunteers can register to volunteer at a store from 14 to 16 July, or get their company to volunteer at the Packing Event on Mandela Day.

“Food insecurity is a real problem in South Africa as millions of people, mostly women and children, go hungry each day. Food drives go a long way in ensuring that the 250,000 hungry people fed daily by our 600 Beneficiary Organisations nationally receive good nutrition during the cold winter months”, says Andy Du Plessis, FoodForward SA’s Managing Director.

Both FoodForward SA and Pick n Pay staff are working hard to ensure that this becomes an annual event throughout South Africa, where people can get involved and make a difference.

More details will follow in the coming months. For more information on how you can support this initiative and commit your 67 minutes to helping those less fortunate, please email us at ashleigh@foodforwardsa.org or call us on 021 531 5670. Just think of how many lives we can touch in 67 minutes!