FoodForward SA partnered with retailers to educate the public on surplus food and how surplus food, though not necessarily fit for sale, was fit for consumption. Picture: Siphiwe Sibeko
Cape Town - In recognition of the upcoming International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, food redistribution organisation FoodForward SA (FFSA) is launching a campaign to raise awareness of South Africa’s dire food security crisis, and how it can be solved.
This comes after a survey by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries revealed that over 10 million tons of high quality food was lost or wasted yearly across the supply chain, equivalent to one-third of the food produced in the nation.
With people lacking access to safe and nutritious food, managing director of FFSA, Andy du Plessis, said that by re-purposing the surplus, good quality food can be recovered and redistributed to vulnerable people.
“Consumers have the perception that food loss and waste is only expired and rotten food, when in fact the average South African household throws away six kilograms of perfectly edible food per week. The obscene amount of food ‘waste’, or rather surplus food, presents a massive opportunity to curb food insecurity, while saving the environment. Grocery products that may not be good enough to sell, but are good enough to eat, then it’s good enough to donate.
“By re-purposing the surplus, we can recover good quality food and redistribute it to vulnerable people who don’t have access to or cannot afford a nutritious meal. Surplus food is still quality food and is not substandard,” said Du Plessis.
With FFSA providing wholesome meals to more than 950 000 people in disadvantaged communities by developing a reliable, sustainable food distribution model for the collection of quality donated, within-date, surplus food from farmers, manufacturers and retailers, Du Plessis said that by connecting a world of excess to a world of need, providing one meal costs just 68c, making it the most cost-effective food security solution.
“Given the slow rate of job creation and low economic growth forecast for South Africa for the near future, the only viable option in the short term to achieve food security is a food donations policy. We are planning to present policy recommendations to the office of the President for consideration, as a viable solution to address food insecurity at scale. It’s our mission to ensure all South Africans can lead healthy, productive lives, and that starts by supporting people with reliable access to nutritious food,” said Du Plessis.
FFSA and other stakeholders have drafted recommendations for a Food Donations Policy Atlas for South Africa, outlining three key areas relevant to food donations, including food safety for donations, liability protection for food donors, and tax incentives and government grants.
To get the ball rolling, FFSA partnered with retailers such as Pick n Pay to educate the public on surplus food and how surplus food, though not necessarily fit for sale, was fit for consumption.
Director of sustainability at Pick n Pay, Vaughan Pierce, said that because of disruptions caused by civil unrest, the Covid-19 crisis, the conflict in Ukraine and other local and global events, the communal obligation to ensure a dependable, safe and inexpensive food supply to millions of people at all socio-economic levels needs to be emphasised, and this initiative does that.
“South African retailers play a critical role in keeping the nation fed, providing consumers with essential nutrition and maintaining food security in South Africa. South African consumers are all under financial pressure, particularly those relying on social grants, fuelled by unemployment and poverty.
“It is our collective responsibility to provide a reliable, safe and affordable supply of food for millions of people at all levels of the socio-economic spectrum. To achieve this, we depend on a large and inclusive network of suppliers, large and small, in addition to a network of manufacturing, processing and distribution facilities. It is also our responsibility to minimise any disruptions to the supply chain, as we have seen in South Africa and around the world that disruption to supply chains has a serious impact on everyone, but particularly those who can least afford it. Disruption can take many forms, such as civil unrest, the Covid-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine and other local and global events,” said Pierce.
Weekend Argus
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