Nearly R40m allocated to emergency food relief over the past year

Cape Town mayor Dan Plato at helps give out food to those in need.

Cape Town mayor Dan Plato at helps give out food to those in need.

Published May 17, 2021

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Cape Town – Over the past year, the City of Cape Town has allocated about R39 million to an emergency food-relief programme.

’’The lingering impact of the national Covid-19 lockdown means residents continue to struggle to provide food for their families.

The ability to earn an income means residents can create jobs for others and build dignity through providing for their families. This is something many residents have not been able to do because of the impact of the national Covid-19 lockdown. The hardship experienced by many through the loss of income is something we are very much aware of and we have a duty to assist our residents.

’’It is necessary that government support must be extended through food aid, and local soup kitchens. As a caring City, these donations are intended to assist organisations feeding thousands of residents in need,’’ said Mayor Dan Plato.

More than 260 soup kitchens have benefited from this programme, and more than 200 000 residents now receive a warm meal daily from these soup kitchens.

Conditions for the City’s Grant-in-Aid (GIA) funding encourage recipient organisations to partner with smaller community-based groups to deliver food relief. This enables support for smaller community groups to keep doing their good work, even if they are not able to meet the stringent requirements to access grant-in-aid funding.

Mark Nicholson, from the Lavender Hill Sports and Recreational Foundation, said the City’s ongoing support has been gratefully received.

“Before lockdown we would feed about 150 kids, now with lockdown, Monday to Friday, we feed more than 300 people,” said Nicholson.

When the country was under level 5 of the national lockdown they fed about 500 people. Once a month the kids receive sweet delights from the foundation.

To date, the City’s food-relief programme has included R14 million from the mayor’s relief programme being used to support a major food drive and R15m which was recently approved by council in March as part of the Budget Adjustment process. Applications from registered NGOs, PBOs or NPOs are currently being assessed.

’’During these oversight visits to community kitchens, it is heart-warming to see the City’s funding in action, which is providing food relief to thousands of our vulnerable communities as a result of the impact that the pandemic has had on homes and livelihoods. We want to thank everyone who is and has been playing a role in implementing and providing this humanitarian relief programme, including City staff, and the community-based organisations throughout the city,’ said Grant Twigg, Mayco member for urban management.

Pastor Joshua Afram from, Ample Grace Solution Centre, said they had received a stove and pots from the City along with some food supplies. They feed people every Sunday and run a soup kitchen. They feed about 150 people and give out food parcels.

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