03 — Food Security

No one builds a future on an empty stomach.

Our Food Security Programme runs food drives today and is building toward permanent community kitchens — because hunger doesn’t wait for a long-term plan, and neither should we.

Why this programme exists

Hunger in South Africa, in numbers.

South Africa produces enough food to feed itself — the crisis isn’t supply, it’s access. These are the numbers behind why that gap matters. Sources: Statistics South Africa (Food Poverty Line, Quarterly Labour Force Survey Q1 2026, General Household Survey hunger data)

R855.00a month is the minimum one person needs for basic nutrition — the official food poverty line
9 500+children under five were admitted to public hospitals for acute malnutrition in just nine months of 2025
683 000+households with a child aged five or younger reported experiencing hunger
32.7%national unemployment closely tracks food insecurity — no income, no food security
20%of funding

Food Security

Directed to feeding programmes and community kitchens

Purpose

From emergency relief to standing infrastructure.

Our Food Security Programme implements feeding programmes and community kitchens that combat hunger and malnutrition. We start where the need is most urgent — with food drives that provide immediate relief — and build toward permanent, reliable community kitchens that families can count on every week, not just in a crisis.

Our Mission

To make sure no family in the communities we serve has to choose between rent, school fees, and a meal.

Our Vision

A future where access to nutritious food is consistent and dignified — a standing service, not an emergency response.

Food Drives

“Relief that arrives this week, not next quarter.”
01 — In Depth

Immediate relief, organised and dignified.

Food drives are our fastest way to respond to hunger — collecting and distributing non-perishable food directly into the communities that need it. They’re also where most of our food-security work starts today, while we build toward the permanent infrastructure of community kitchens.

Community-nominated distribution. Local volunteers and partners help identify the households who need a drive most.

Bulk donor partnerships. Corporate and individual donors contribute non-perishables at scale, stretching every rand further.

Regular, not once-off. We run drives on a repeating schedule, so families can plan around reliable support.

A bridge, not the end goal. Every drive is a step toward the standing community kitchens we’re building next.

Community Kitchens

“A kitchen a family can count on every single week.”
02 — In Depth

From emergency box to standing meal service.

Food drives solve today’s problem. Community kitchens solve it permanently. We’re working to establish local, volunteer-run kitchens that provide regular, nutritious meals — turning a once-off donation model into lasting infrastructure the community owns.

Locally run. Kitchens staffed and driven by volunteers from the very communities they serve, not outsiders passing through.

Reliable schedule. A predictable weekly rhythm families can plan their week around, not a surprise when funding allows.

Corporate infrastructure support. Partnering with businesses for kitchen equipment, bulk food, and logistics.

Built into Wentzel Estates™. Our flagship housing development includes an on-site community kitchen from the ground up.

Nutrition Support

“Malnutrition in early childhood leaves a mark for life.”
03 — In Depth

Protecting the years that matter most.

Not all hunger looks the same, and not everyone is equally at risk. We focus extra attention on the households where malnutrition does the most lasting harm — young children, pregnant and nursing mothers, and the elderly — because the damage of early malnutrition often can’t be undone later.

Priority for young children. Households with children under five are prioritised, given how much early nutrition shapes long-term development.

Clinic & health-worker referrals. Working alongside local health services to identify and reach families early, before a crisis develops.

Nutrition education, not just food. Helping families get the most out of every meal, alongside what we provide directly.

Quality over quantity. Every meal is planned around real nutritional value, not just calories on a plate.

Our philosophy

Food is dignity, not charity.

Here’s what shapes how we think about feeding a family.

01

Dignity over queues

How food reaches a family matters as much as whether it does. We design distribution to feel like support, not a handout.

02

Consistency over crisis-response

Emergency relief matters, but our real goal is a reliable service families never have to worry about losing.

03

Local hands, local kitchens

Food security built and run by the community it serves lasts longer than anything delivered from outside it.

04

Nutrition, not just calories

A full stomach isn’t the same as a nourished body. We think about what’s on the plate, not just how much of it.

Help us feed a family this week

Every food drive and every kitchen shift starts with someone who showed up.

Whether you’d like to fund a food drive, donate in bulk, or volunteer at a community kitchen, there’s a direct way to help right now.

In loving memory of Theoleen Anita Brown · 1973–2021 · Restoring Hope & Dignity, Building Empowered Communities.