To coincide with World Food Day on 16 October 2020, DHL Express is excited to launch their 1 000 000 meals campaign which will see the global leader in express logistics offer welcomed support to iconic South African food distribution charities with the epic goal of delivering 1 000 000 meals to those in need, before the end of December 2020.
Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express, Sub Saharan Africa, said, “2020 has certainly tested us all and delivered a stark reminder of how important it is to give back to the communities in which we operate. Food security is a critical social issue and we are thrilled to be in a position to support some worthy charities during this time. At DHL, we have a very clear purpose of Connecting People and Improving Lives and I can’t think of a better project to help bring that purpose to life.
Megan Collinicos, VP Marketing, DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa adds, “We are working with a robust group of charities to ensure that we reach as many people as possible. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for our teams in South Africa to get involved from a volunteer perspective for the duration of campaign. It’s so important that we commit, As One, with our wonderful DHL Express employees as opposed to merely sponsoring food preparation and delivers. It’s an integrated approach that will rely on collaboration between our employees and our partners to make it a success.”
One of the charities is FoodForward SA.
Established in 2009 to address widespread hunger in South Africa, FoodForward SA connects a world of excess to a world of need by recovering edible surplus food from farmers, manufacturers and retailers, for redistribution to registered beneficiary organisations that serve the poor. FoodForward SA calls this cost-effective model Foodbanking.
“We rely on partnerships to implement our surplus food strategies that serve the poor,” says Andy Du Plessis, FoodForward SA Managing Director. “Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown FoodForward SA served 670 registered beneficiary organisations (255 000 people). We currently serve 1000 Beneficiary Organisations (412 000 people). In the last financial year we distributed 5,115 tons of food, whereas in the last six months alone, we distributed 5,300 tons of food.”
Du Plessis adds: “We value our partnership with DHL. Their support is critical and enables us to scale our operations in order to provide support to the most vulnerable communities. We are always up for a challenge and are confident that we will be able to help DHL reach its goal of ‘1 000 000 meals by December’.”
This coming Friday (16 October) is World Food Day and the theme is ‘Our Actions are our Future’. DHL would like to encourage the public to support FoodForward SA. To view the ways in which you can get involved visit https://foodforwardsa.org/donate-2/
Did you know: One third of all food produced in South Africa is wasted while more than 14 million people go without adequate food to meet their basic needs.
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For further information on FoodForward SA please visit www.foodforwardsa.org, for further information on DHL visit www.dhl.com
