Durban - A long-term partnership has been forged between SA Harvest, the national food rescue and hunger relief organisation whose mission is to end hunger in South Africa, and The Sharks rugby team based in Durban.
The agreement will see the Sharks provide SA Harvest with 500m² of dedicated warehouse space at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, a space that SA Harvest can call their home.
Alan Browde, the CEO of SA Harvest, said that since its inception in October 2019, SA Harvest had delivered the equivalent of 27.7 million meals and rescued 8.3 million kilograms of food from ending up in landfill.
It had more than 200 vetted beneficiary organisations, 60 of which are located across KwaZulu-Natal, from Richards Bay to Pietermaritzburg.
“In the month of August 2022, over 287 958 meals were delivered to beneficiaries in KZN. This significant support of SA Harvest’s efforts to relieve hunger by rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste, enables SA Harvest to double its storage capacity. This means we have the potential to house sufficient stock to deliver a million meals at any point in time.
“SA Harvest’s model is based on the premise that if we can redirect some of the 13 million tons of perfectly edible, nutritious food that goes to waste every year in South Africa, we can significantly alleviate hunger while at the same time reducing the impact of food waste on the environment.”
Browde said that the relationship between SA Harvest and The Sharks began after the KZN riots when the two organisations partnered to bring relief to affected areas, primarily in Zululand, through The Sharks’ Hands of Hope initiative.
“The formalisation of the partnership between our two organisations will significantly expand the reach of both organisations’ efforts to fight hunger.”
Browde said that SA Harvest would be delivering relief to The Sharks Hands of Hope beneficiaries in Zululand on a quarterly basis.
“The first delivery will take place this week, with 15 tons of fresh vegetables, procured through the OneFarm Share programme by HelloChoice and Standard Bank, with maize meal and dry ingredients being delivered to Hambanathi, Thanda and neighbouring communities. This equates to 45 000 meals delivered on behalf of Hands of Hope.”
Sharks CEO Dr Eduard Coetzee said that the three-year agreement provided The Sharks with the means to amplify the reach of the Hands of Hope initiative, and their ability to engage and inspire for greater impact through hunger relief efforts in Zululand.
“SA Harvest does great and meaningful work, which has made it very easy for The Sharks to align and partner with them. The Sharks have welcomed SA Harvest to Hollywoodbets Kings Park by building a permanent warehouse for SA Harvest to operate from. SA Harvest have committed to assisting The Sharks Foundation and our Hands of Hope initiative by providing 45 000 meals quarterly to registered NPOs and local communities that The Sharks support around the greater Durban area. This is huge for The Sharks, as it will allow us to make the relationships sustainable and really help those in need with essential food products,” he said.