NGO Aims To Deliver One Million Meals During 'Mandela Month'

A hunger relief organization, SA Harvest announced that it will deliver one million meals to the communities in South Africa in the wake of the Mandela Month campaign.

Mandela Month is celebrated to honor the anti-apartheid activist and first president of South Africa Nelson Mandela, who won the election with more than 60% of the votes. April 27 marked the first democratic elections in South Africa that took place in 1994. He was a member of the African National Congress (ANC).

Alan Browde, CEO and founder of SA Harvest, said on Tuesday that the organization is calling on everyone to help them complete their mission.

"In light of Mandela Day, we are calling on everyone — food donors, partners, corporates and the South African public — to join us in our mission by pledging a symbolic donation representing Mandela's 67 years of service," Browde said, TimesLive reported.

The founder of the organization noted that they are striving to deliver one million meals, adding that the heart of this mission is the "harsh reality that 20 million South Africans are on a spectrum of severe food vulnerability, ranging from going to sleep hungry every night to running out of money for food sometime during the month, while more than 10.3-million tonnes of food is wasted annually."

Browde pointed out that the constitution of South Africa gives the right to every citizen for having nutritious food, "the current state of hunger and the desperate levels of malnutrition in our country starkly highlight the government's failure to fulfill this basic obligation."

He noted that this organization is working towards providing fundamental rights to the citizens of South Africa. The organization noted that several businesses across the food supply chain are encouraged to donate food in units, kilograms, or tonnes - be it 67, 670, 6,700, or 67,000 - as the country is celebrating 67th Mandela Month.

"Individuals and corporates can contribute by donating in denominations of R67, R670, R6,700, or R67,000. Every R67 raised will enable SA Harvest to provide 74 meals at just 90 cents each," Browde added. "Since its inception in October 2019, SA Harvest has delivered more than 43 million meals and rescued 13.1-million kilograms of food from going to waste."

So far, the organization has delivered more than 44 million meals, which cost R90 per meal, according to their official website.