Do More, a Durban-based foundation, focuses on harnessing the collective impact of multiple organisations. It aims to be a catalyst for collaborative partnerships with public and private sector organisations to improve food security and development of children and the communities in which they live.
Every year there is a celebratory project on World Food Day to drawn attention to hunger and nutrition.
In 2019 the foundation broke a world record for the most peanut butter sandwiches made in an hour – the combined effort of more than 1 000 volunteers across 43 sites in South Africa.
This year the objective was collective action by multiple partnering organisations to provide more than 570 000 bowls of Rainbow chicken soup to children in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces. Donations included soup from Crown National and bread, margarine and Rainbow chicken from RCL Foods.
This year there were 18 partners whose employees volunteered to prepare meals at Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in their communities. They included Meals on Wheels, with volunteers cooking more than 140 000 litres of soup in sites in four provinces.
To add longer-term impact, the foundation, with volunteers from RCL Foods and First National Bank (FNB), will work with 22 ECD centres to establish food gardens.
The foundation referred to latest General Household Survey (GHS) data showing that at least 2.5 million South African children experience hunger and live below the food poverty line. Recent child mortality audits also show that almost a third of children who die are severely malnourished.
“These markers showcase the need for us to work together and use the power of collective action to find sustainable solutions,” said Iris Naidoo, partnership manager at the Do More Foundation.
