Chicken Industry

Lots of soup on Mandela Day

Nelson Mandela died in 2013, and his birthday on July 18 is celebrated internationally as Mandela Day in honour of the late South African statesman and civil rights campaigner.

Mandela spent 67 years of his life fighting for human rights in South Africa. In the country of his birth, volunteers are encouraged to spend 67 minutes doing good for others. Every year there are suggestions on how to do this, from donating food and clothes or cleaning beaches to working with children or the elderly.

Soup kitchens are an annual favourite, and the biggest of all is the nationwide donation of soup to the needy collated by Chefs with Compassion. It’s an annual challenge – let’s combine our efforts to make 67 000 litres of nourishing soup and give it to those in need. Chefs, restaurants, companies and home cooks are urged to make at least 10 litres of soup for donation to hungry people in their areas.

The challenge has been running since 2020, when Chefs with Compassion was founded, and every year they have exceeded the target of 67 000 litres of soup made in cities, towns and villages across the country. The total in 2020 was 77 455 litres. It dropped to 70 870 litres in 2021 but then rose to a record 90 679 litres last year.

It’s also a fundraising event – participants are asked to donate R67 to Chefs with Compassion to help fund their year-round activities of rescuing surplus food, having it cooked and then feeding some of South Africa’s millions of hungry people.

Mandela would have been proud.