Mandela Day food parcel initiative kicks-off
The Mandela Day food parcel initiative has kicked-off with the distribution of over 17 000 food parcels to primary school learners in Alexandra Township, near Johannesburg.
The Food Parcel Project is part of a three year partnership with the Department of Basic Education, Tiger Brands and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The initiative aims to contribute towards the eradication of food insecurity that affects learners and sustains them during the long school holidays.
It has seen 12 million daily meals fed to beneficiaries on an annual basis, while 107 000 are distributed to the destitute per year.
The department runs the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) that provides learners with a nutritious lunch during school time, while the Tiger Brands Foundation complements the NSNP by feeding 39 350 learners in 62 non-fee paying schools with its in-school breakfast feeding programme to date.
Since December 2012, over 46 000 food parcels have been distributed thus far by Tiger Brands through the Holiday Food Parcel Project.
The National Development Plan (NDP) promotes Public Private Partnerships that help to build a better South Africa and Tiger Brands, with its partners, aligns to the NDP’s call to improve food security.
“This project is part of our drive to tackle food insecurity in a sustainable and impactful manner,” said Alex Mathole, Group Executive: Regulatory and Corporate Affairs at Tiger Brands.
Mandela Day:
South Africans will for the first time celebrate Mandela Day without the former president Nelson Mandela who passed away last year.
Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day celebrated on 18 July (on Mandela’s birthday). The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010.
Mandela Day is not meant as a public holiday, but as a day to honour the legacy of Mandela, and his values, through volunteering and community service.
Mandela Day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact.
