Gauteng Food Security Initiative - help in a time of need
Hunger relief on International Mandela Day
Food distribution on a sunny winter day in Johannesburg - Nelson Mandela Day, 18th July 2020
HSF; HSF
It was a sunny winter day in Johannesburg. Hundreds of people had walked from a nearby informal settlement to the grounds of a church in the upmarket suburb of Lonehill. In the parking area they were receiving much needed food boxes from a well organised team of helpers. This Mandela Day, the 18th of July, saw one of the food distribution mornings organised by the Gauteng Food Security Initiative.
Due to Covid19 and the lockdown measures implemented to contain it from the end of March, millions in South Africa have lost their income. While the state has announced a comprehensive package of assistance late in April, its implementation is taking time. The payouts are also far from sufficient to prevent wide spread hunger, as surveys also document.
Many hundreds of boxes were put together - with the help of organisations from business, government and civil society
HSF; HSF
The Gauteng Food Security Committee (GFSC) has been supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation over the past months of lockdown. We are able to provide this type of assistance thanks to funding we receive from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Bavarian State Chancellery.
Managed by the In Transformation Initiative (ITI), an HSF partner organisation, the GFSC provided about 12 000 food parcels so far. Prof Nick Binedell, Founding Dean of GIBS, and former Minister Roelf Meyer are actively involved as ITI directors. The organisers of the Gauteng Food Security Initiative have streamlined their distribution working with other partners, the Gauteng Together CAN network and several religious organisations in a multitude of townships and other areas around Gauteng.
A circle of gratitude on concluding the food distribution - great spirit by the organisers and all who helped
HSF; HSF
The team is also supporting the LinkedTo Relief Mapping Platform as there is a need to better coordinate work across various organisations. LinkedTo, an exciting collaboration of diverse experts involving an innovative online platform, could hopefully remain in place for the future, as a positive legacy of the COVID19 crisis. This is also an opportunity to foster and institutionalise sustainable cross sector collaborations in South Africa.
For more information, offers of support or banking details, please contact gautengfood(at)gmail.com
If you have further questions about the initiative or would like to contact our team at the Hanns Seidel Foundation about it, feel free to mail us on info(at)hsf.co.za, or call +27 11 325 0589.