Novel program redistributes surplus harvest: Second Harvest addresses hunger in South Africa

27 Jun 2018 --- FoodForward SA is launching Second Harvest, a program that sources and collects surplus fruit and vegetables from commercial farmers across South Africa and redistributes this fresh produce to the 600 beneficiary organizations in their network.

50 percent of edible agricultural production is wasted due to specification requirements, cold-chain and processing inadequacies as well as access to markets. This nutritious food goes to waste while 14 million South Africans go hungry every day. 

Established in 2009 to address widespread hunger in South Africa, FoodForward SA connects a world of excess to a world of need by recovering surplus food from the consumer goods supply chain. The organization reaches up to 250 000 daily at the cost of R0.79 per meal.

The Second Harvest allows farmers to donate their post-harvest surpluses while they are harvesting, to ensure the food does not go to waste. 

“The launch of Second Harvest will ensure that more agricultural production is redistributed to the hungry. We encourage farmers, growers, food processors, and other supply chain stakeholders to partner with us and join the food recovery revolution,” Managing Director of FoodForward SA, Mr. Andy Du Plessis tells FoodIngredientsFirst.  

FoodForward SA is working with a network of farmers located in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Durban to improve the nutrition level of the groceries provided to beneficiaries. “We have created a virtual food banking platform which links beneficiary organizations to the closest participating retail store at which it can collect surplus food. In this case, we would like the same concept to be used where our BO’s will be linked to farms where they can collect nutritious agricultural surplus food,” he explains. 

FoodForward SA Ambassador, Jenny Morris hosted the launch of the program at her cooking school called the CooksPlayground earlier this week (June 25, 2018). Surplus food items will be cooked at the venue to showcase the wholesome food received by beneficiary organizations on a daily basis. 

FoodForward SA is working with a network of farmers located in the Western Cape, Gauteng, and Durban to improve the nutrition level of the groceries provided to beneficiaries. 

Du Plessis adds: “Dedicated refrigerated vehicles go directly to our farmers to collect fresh fruit and vegetables while they are harvesting. This fresh produce meaningfully increases the nutritional value of the food distributed, as well as volume, which significantly increases the number of people FoodForward SA can reach.”

Food banking is the most effective solution at present for reducing hunger, and reducing food waste is the third most effective solution in fighting climate change, according to Du Plessis. 

“We currently provide 17 600 000 meals to over 600 NPO’s across the country. An independent study by WWF and Green House reflects that recovering food saved 17,600 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to 3,600 cars driven every day for a whole year,” he says. 

The launch of Second Harvest will ensure that more agricultural production is redistributed to the hungry, according to FoodForward SA and they want others to partner with them and join the food recovery revolution.

By Elizabeth Green