Durban - The national lockdown has brought about harsh realities for numerous people, but many others have given their time to uplift and alleviate pressure on those who are battling.
One such person is Wentworth resident Dominic Samuels, who has been unwavering in ensuring that people in his community have a hot meal, through the ChowTime Community Food Drive.
Samuels, a father of four, has for the past 103 days provided hot meals to the community from his food truck, and attributed the beginnings of the food drive to a conversation he had with his young son.
“When the lockdown began my son asked what a lockdown meant. I explained what it was, and I had this food truck, so he asked me, knowing we had food, what other people in the community would be eating.
“Since I had this food truck as well as stock, I resolved to provide a few meals instead of letting it sit there through the lockdown. So I started with a Facebook page for the community drive and from there more people from the community got involved.”
According to Samuels, the queues have grown longer during the lockdown, but he said he was pleased with the impact the food drive had had on the community.
“Initially, we started with feeding 600 people, then it became 1200 and then 3500, but it’s good that more people have started food drives so meals can be provided to more areas in our community.”
Ward councillor Aubrey Snyman explained the crucial role of food drives in the district.
“If it wasn’t for food drives there would be a number of people going to sleep on empty stomachs. We are blessed to have people who have the community’s interests at heart, and for that we applaud them.”
Snyman also noted that sustaining community food drives over the long haul would pose a challenge and encouraged the government to help fund them.