Municipality Supports Home-Grown Veggie Gardens

Soup kitchens supported by Overstrand Municipality have been operating since soon after lockdown earlier this year. The Municipal funding for soup kitchens will be redirected to supporting home-grown veggie gardens from the end of September. Food kitchens funded by various NGO’s as well as the Government School feeding Scheme are not affected by this decision.

The Overstrand Municipality’s food aid programme provided just under 1 million meals to vulnerable people in the Overstrand. This was in addition to the School Feeding Scheme, the Department of Social Development’s food hamper project, the SASSA Relief of Social Distress Programme, and the work done by various faith-based and local community organisations, as well as soup kitchens run by volunteers and NGO’s.

Between 16 - 18 July 2020, more than 3 000 litres of soup was produced per day for Mandela Day. This was enough soup to feed 27 000 hungry people in needy communities all over the region, from Kleinmond and Hawston to Mount Pleasant, Zwelihle, Mooiuitsig, Rooiels, Stanford, Gansbaai, Buffeljagsbaai and Baardskeerdersbos. Stakeholders included The Hemel-en-Aarde Brewery, Zelda la Grange, Deon Bing, Sia Kolisi Foundation and explorer Riaan Manser in collaboration with Cape Whale Coast Tourism offices to name but a few.

Our animals were also not forgotten in this time and donations were delivered to rescue centres in Gansbaai and Kleinmond.

“We cannot thank the people who contributed to these soup kitchens, enough. We are very grateful for the support and assistance provided by the countless private individuals, businesses and community organisations who worked voluntarily in public places and behind the scenes, or who donated toward this cause in one way or another”, said Overstrand Executive Mayor, Dudley Coetzee.

The focus of the Municipality’s financial support to food kitchens will now shift to the ‘one home one garden’ project, with the aim of encouraging households to grow their own vegetable gardens.