Global Foodbanking Network

Our strategy in South Africa is to eliminate hunger by involving the food and grocery industry and government in a collaborative effort with newly-formed food banks. The Lunch Buddies program is a successful example of this strategy in action.  

From Those Who Have Much to Those Who Have Little

The Lunch Buddies program is operated by FoodBank Cape Town, a member of South Africa’s growing national food banking network. Support from GFN via the Clinton Global Initiative enabled FoodBank Cape Town to take an existing program called Bread Buddies and expand it in two ways: to reach more schools and to include additional food with high nutritional value. Now called Lunch Buddies, the program has also enhanced the FoodBank’s value as a community asset.

The Lunch Buddies program provides students from underprivileged schools with a nutritious lunch. Students from more privileged backgrounds are asked to bring an extra sandwich on a given day of the school week, and the extra sandwiches are gathered at a central collection point. A truck from FoodBank Cape Town picks up the sandwiches, adds a piece of fresh fruit to each one and distributes the food to schools in disadvantaged areas.

Adding the fruit component to the lunches has significantly boosted their nutritional values. While South Africa has the reputation of being a high-quality fruit exporter, fruit consumption per capita in the country is approximately five times lower than world standards. The generous fruit donations are from the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF).

A Replicable Model

The Lunch Buddies program serves as a model that can be rolled out by food banks throughout South Africa. It establishes a link between the privileged and the under-privileged, with the unifying purpose of ensuring children are not hungry and “eat to learn.” By involving children from different walks of life at a young age, the program can help instill lifelong commitments to helping those in need.

With involvement from the FPEF, FoodBank Cape Town has gained support from South Africa’s commercial sector. The FoodBank also plans to expand the program to include employee volunteers from corporations to help with logistics and administration. 

FoodBank Cape Town will create a blueprint for other organizations that includes two types of information packets. Donor schools will get information on what types of sandwiches to make, how to prepare them, quantities and packaging.  Recipient schools will get information on nutritional values, what goes into a balanced meal, the value of eating fruit and how to store the meals. A nutritionist will also provide training at both donor and receiving schools.

Highlights

With support from GFN, FoodBank Cape Town currently provides nutritional lunches to approximately 4,000 school children each week. That number will continue to grow as the Lunch Buddies model rolls out across South Africa.