FoodBank works hard to cultivate strong relationships with government, the food industry, the rest of the corporate sector and civil society organisations. These partnerships are mutually beneficial in that they enable FoodBank to feed the hungry effectively while at the same time they can present our partners with opportunities and solutions.
Pick n Pay delivering food donations to FoodBank.
One of FoodBank’s most valued relationships is the one it shares with our biggest retail donor, Pick n Pay. (Pick n Pay is the largest retailer in South Africa and one of the largest and most successful retailers in Africa. The Pick n Pay Group has 755 stores – made up of Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Family Stores, which are franchise stores – and employs 37 000 people.)
Last year Pick n Pay donated just over 1,000 tons of food to FoodBank. FoodBank usually fetches this food – typically bread, confectionary, fruit and vegetables – from Pick n Pay stores.
However, in July Pick n Pay provided a major boost to FoodBank and the hungry we serve by delivering a whopping 36 tons of Pick n Pay-branded products worth about R300,000 from the retailer’s distribution centre in Johannesburg. The donation included maize meal, sugar, long life milk, pasta, dried fruit, canned fruit, canned vegetables and canned fish, as well as some essential toiletries and detergents. The massive consignment was delivered to FoodBank’s warehouse in City Deep, Joburg, in four 24-ton trucks. They made an impressive sight lined up outside the food bank!
From left to right: Elton Leite (FoodBank's Food Sourcing Co-ordinator); Stephen van Niekerk (Actor and FoodBank ambassador); Mpho Putu (Foodbank's Regional General Manager - North); John Lucas (Pick n Pay's National General Manager)Handing over the donation was John Lucas, Pick n Pay’s national general manager: “Since its inception, Pick n Pay has sought not just to excel as a business but also to be an outstanding corporate citizen. This donation underlines our commitment to helping South Africa to be food secure. We wish FoodBank success in its vital role of serving the hungry.”
The handover was featured on Expresso, the breakfast show broadcast on SABC 3. FoodBank’s regional general manager Mpho Putu was interviewed, along with actor Stephen van Niekerk, who stars in the popular soap opera Isidingo. Stephen is passionate about the plight of the hungry and our work. He has become an ambassador for FoodBank and is committed to using his talents and celebrity to raise awareness about the hunger problem in SA.
“A huge thank you to everyone at Pick n Pay,” said FoodBank’s MD Alan Gilbertson. “We are delighted to be partnering with retailers of your calibre. We will do everything in our power to deserve growth in that partnership, to accelerate our joint fight against hunger in South Africa.”
