Glencore’s focus on sustainability, including investing in skills development, food insecurity and the long-term development of communities, motivated FoodForward SA (then Foodbank SA) to approach the global mining company with a request to partner and create a food distribution operation which would meaningfully address food insecurity in Rustenburg. In 2014 the partnership was formalised with Glencore Rustenburg Smelter entirely funding our Rustenburg FoodForward SA branch. The support covers the operational costs of running the branch, the purchase of vehicles including refrigerated trucks for recovering and distributing food to our beneficiaries and the implementation of a dedicated Breakfast Programme for our Early Childhood Development (ECD) beneficiary organisations.
At the outset of the partnership, the Rustenburg branch served a network of BOs which enabled it to reach just under 3,000 vulnerable people. Through the seven-year partnership, which has recently been extended for another three years, the FoodForward SA Rustenburg branch has made significant inroads and now reaches around 33,000 vulnerable people through a network of 78 registered BOs which serve the frail and elderly, schoolchildren, orphans and vulnerable women and children, at-risk youth, as well as the indigent through community feeding programmes.
The Rustenburg branch also reaches about 6,500 people in poverty-stricken rural towns surrounding Mahikeng and Klerksdorp through our Mobile Rural Depot programme.
Rustenburg branch truck driver Dipuo, distributing food parcels to schoolchildren
Glencore is a world leader in large-scale, low-cost ferrochrome production and a major contributor to the South African economy. Glencore is also a proud supporter of FoodForward SA’s Mandela Day and World Food Day events.
“Our decision to extend our partnership with FoodForward SA was an easy decision, because of the professional way in which they run this organization and the huge impact this project makes to people in our host communities. We really value and appreciate FoodForward SA as a partner,” Fatima Hayat – HR Manager, Glencore.