Cape Town - In an effort to feed as many as possible, Meals on Wheels has partnered with Capitec Bank to cook and distribute 2 000 meals throughout this week in the build-up to World Hunger Day on May 28 in areas that need it the most.
Five hundred of these meals were cooked and distributed in Langa on Wednesday by both the Capitec team and Meals on Wheels at the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Capitec regional manager Happiness Mkhize said it was important to realise that everyone is part of one ecosystem, and as Capitec banks are based in communities, it was vital to take time out of the office and go and serve in these communities.
“We give each employee three fully-paid days a year to go into their communities and volunteer at an NPO of their choice. The bigger purpose, of course, is knowing this is going to serve somebody who would not have had a plate of food,” said Mkhize.
Capitec Corporate Social Investment Head Neptal Khoza added: “We support our employees in their endeavour of making a difference in communities we serve and employ from. Its encouraging to see employees coming out in numbers to support the Meals on Wheels initiative. Its a proud moment for us."
Simbarashe Madzana from Meals on Wheels said that the biggest issue is accurate numbers on those who are hungry.
“There has been a major increase in both numbers and need since those last statistics were taken and they can only provide meals to the areas that are known about.
“For some people, the difference between life and death is the meal we are providing, some are just one meal away from death. We talk about development, education and work opportunities, but that doesn’t matter when people are starving as you can only talk about development when people are fed. This partnership is bringing the corporate world into our reality,” said Madzana.
A few of the beneficiaries said, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many had lost their jobs and were unable to provide food for themselves and their families and they were grateful to Meals on Wheels.