The fundraising campaign, Food for the Future, is raising money to start a feeding scheme for learners at Pieter Langeveldt Primary School in Cloetesville.
The Food for the Future campaign was initiated by the United Nations Association of South Africa (UNASA) Stellenbosch University (SU) in collaboration with Rubix cluster. A cluster is a community of SU residences that are grouped together according to their geographical proximity.
The Food for the Future campaign will help feed the children of Pieter Langeveldt Primary School, in Cloetesville. PHOTO: Instagram/Katelynn Snyman/UNASA
“We decided to launch the campaign during this time because of the big uncertainty of food resources in our surrounding communities,” said Jean-Mari Grobler, social impact house committee member at Heemstede Ladies Residence, which forms part of the Rubix cluster.
During this time it is crucial to raise awareness for those who are vulnerable and have limited resources – especially children, she said.
“A lot of these children rely on their school to provide them with food. But now that the schools are closed, they often do not have access to any food,” said Katelynn Snyman, executive team member and youth literacy project coordinator of UNASA.
Pieter Langeveldt Primary School has 650 learners, most of which face the challenge of food insecurity on a daily basis, said Liezl Therhoeven, deputy principal at Pieter Langeveldt Primary.
“When the lockdown started there was already food insecurity in a lot of our children’s households. The school does not have the funds to always provide nutritional food and heavily relies on donations,” she said.
According to Grobler, UNASA SU was directly contacted by Pieter Langeveldt Primary. The school was in desperate need of food packets for the learners, she said
“A lot of their learners did not have sufficient food at home,” said Grobler.
“Our goal is to raise R10 000. And, if we raise more we can help the school in other ways as well and even expand to other schools in need,” Snyman said.
Nutrition is important
Community-based initiatives, such as Food for the Future, are important as it shows that we can work together as a whole society, said dr Hilary Goeiman, deputy director for the Integrated Nutrition Programme at the Western Cape Department of Health. It shows solidarity, she said.
One of the challenges affecting families during the Covid-19 pandemic, is food and nutrition insecurity, said Goeiman.
According to Goeiman, adequate nutrition is one of the key components that children need in order to thrive.
“Nutrition is important at every age and children require a balanced diet to establish and maintain optimal growth, development and cognitive ability,” she said.
INFOGRAPHIC: Anke Nothnagel