As the lockdown continues to impact residents’ ability to earn an income, the Mayor’s office has supplied neighbourhood soup kitchens across the metro, with dry ingredients to help feed vulnerable residents in Cape Town. This initiative began on 2 April and, to date, close to 80 soup kitchens have been supported across Cape Town. Yesterday the Mayor visited soup kitchens in Strand, Delft, Mitchells Plain, and Athlone.
‘We have chosen the sustainable approach of capacitating soup kitchens within communities as an alternative to only handing out food parcels because it allows residents to have at least one meal for the day. With our assistance, the soup kitchens are able to continue their important work. We began this programme with the intention to capacitate feeding schemes in communities who already feed hundreds of people, and to supplement this by donating dry ingredients such as soya mince, lentils, rice, samp and soup mix. We have also issued some with three-plate gas burner stoves and 100L and 80L pots where needed,’ said Executive Mayor Dan Plato.
Reach Out Athlone, a NPO assisting vulnerable groups, feeds between 500 – 700 people every week.
‘This donation will help a lot. Many people in need will be able to get food now. These are items which I didn’t have, so I am grateful for the donation,’ said Founder Aziza Hendricks.
Fatima Swanepoel has been feeding residents with cooked meals in her private capacity, but earlier this year partnered with the Blue Downs Youth Centre, to have a greater reach within the community. ‘This donation from the City will help a lot. I am a single mother and also feed out of my own pocket. I do my best to assist residents in the area as I see the need,’ she said.
Charmaine Cupido from the Christian Community organisation said, ‘We started out feeding children in the afternoon, but now we feed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We do soup, cooked food, biryani and other meals. We feed up to 100 people each day.’
Warda Cay from Kay’s Kitchen in Eastridge Mitchells Plain, feeds 3 000 people every day at 12 feeding points.
These are some of the organisations which are doing excellent work by ensuring that residents do not go to sleep hungry. It is important to assist where possible.
Food relief remains the direct responsibility of national government, through the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), but the City of Cape Town has stepped in to fill the gaps where it can.