“Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation. They will be the leaders of our country, the creators of our national wealth, those who care for and protect our people.” – Nelson Mandela
On 27 June 2014 Tiger Brands, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Department of Basic Education, kicked off Nelson Mandela Day Month with the distribution of over 17 000 food parcels to primary school learners in Alexandra township, Gauteng.
As the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s pioneering food security partner, Tiger Brands aims to contribute towards the eradication of food insecurity that affects learners, and sustain them during the long school holidays.
The Food Parcel Project forms part of a broader food security focus where 12-million daily meals are fed to beneficiaries on an annual basis, while 107 000 food parcels are distributed to disadvantaged members of our communities per year.
The Department of Education runs the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) that provides learners with a nutritious lunch, while the Tiger Brands Foundation complements the NSNP by feeding 39 350 learners in 62 non-fee paying schools with its in-school breakfast feeding programme to date.
Since December 2012, over 46 000 food parcels have been distributed by Tiger Brands through the Holiday Food Parcel Project.
The National Development Plan (NDP) promotes public-private partnerships that help to build a better South Africa and Tiger Brands, with its partners, aligns to the NDP’s call to improve food security and growing awareness about nutrition and education.
“The results of an independent research we conducted with the University of Johannesburg measured the impact of the in-school breakfast feeding and revealed that severe stunting reduced by 7.5% and obesity by around 8% as a direct result of learners receiving well balanced and nutritious meals at schools,” says Alex Mathole, group executive: regulatory and corporate affairs at Tiger Brands.
“The school holiday food parcel project ensures that the positive gains made by the school feeding initiatives continue throughout the long school holidays as it contributes towards the learners and their families receiving balanced nutritious meals.
“This project is part of our drive to tackle food insecurity in a sustainable and impactful manner,” adds Ms Mathole.
The food parcels were packed in 20-litre, food-safe buckets that contained the following products and a meal plan:
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Jungle oats
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Ace maize meal
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Tastic rice
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All Gold jam
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Black Cat peanut butter
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Morvite
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Koo baked beans
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Top One canned meat
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Lion sugar beans
The following schools benefited from the food parcel distribution:
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Bovet Primary School
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Carter Primary School
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Dr Knak Primary School
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Ekukhanyisweni Primary School
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Emfundisweni Primary School
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Gordon Primary School
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Ikage Primary School
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Iphutheng Primary School
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Ithute Primary School
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MC Weiler Primary School
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Pholosho Primary School
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Skeen Primary School
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Zenzeleni Primary School
Media relations contact:
Mr Barry Dijoe
Email: barry.dijoe@tigerbrands.com
Tel: +27 (0)11 840 4129