On Thursday, 14 October 2010, the Tshwane FoodBank Community Depot became the latest addition to the FoodBank family. Unique to this operation is that it will be the first food bank to be run by an affiliate organisation, the Tshwane Chapter of the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa (PMWSA). The depot will be housed initially in a 75 square metre facility in the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market in the city centre, and run by a team comprised mainly of women.
The morning started with a visit by the executive mayor of Tshwane, Dr Gwen Ramakgopa, who inspected the facility and handed out the first two food shipments to the Bethlehem Mission Centre and the Leana Rea Shoma Disability Organisation. The mayor spoke of the varied needs of the community, and how the president's recent tour of the area revealed that poverty is affecting all sectors of society in the city, especially those living on its outskirts.
To represent the role that the new food bank will play in reaching out to the community, especially in serving the marginal regions of the city, the party travelled through the avenues of Pretoria city centre, lined this time of the year with beautiful purple Jacaranda blossoms, down to the dusty untarred streets of Soshanguve, a township 45km north of the city, where the rest of the celebrations took place.
The mayor led a symbolic human chain march to demonstrate the theme of World Food Day this year, United Against Hunger. She was joined by members of her mayoral committee and ward councillors, accompanied by representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the PWMSA and FoodBank South Africa.
Tshwane was home to one of the most well-known protest marches in the history of the struggle against apartheid, that of a group of women who in August 1956 walked to the Union Buildings, registering their protest against having to carry pass books. It was thus significant that again women have demonstrated that by organisation and will, it is possible to unite the city against hunger through initiatives such as foodbanking.
The celebrations ended with a rally in the community centre, attended by 2 000 residents from Soshanguve, where the members of council, PWMSA, FAO and FoodBank SA explained the background behind World Food Day, the concept of foodbanking and the role the various stakeholders will be playing to help end the scourge of hunger in the city.
In her keynote address, the mayor committed the resources of the city to the foodbanking project, and called on business, civil society and faith-based organisations to aid her and her council to support the initiative. She presented a pledge of support to the community, which she signed, together with her council, PWMSA, the FAO, FoodBank SA and various civil and faith-based groups. After the signing of the pledge, the crowd erupted in a rendition of Malibongwe (Let the women be praised), a freedom song made popular during the 1956 march.
For every three food insecure people in South Africa, two are women. We are therefore excited as FoodBank SA to see the women of Tshwane again being the vanguard in the new fight against hunger, and we wish the PWMSA and the people of Tshwane every success with the new food bank. Malibongwe!
