It’s World Hunger Day on 28 May but on Friday 27th, FoodBank SA (a local NGO, who do amazing work feeding 140,000 people annually – at an unimaginable cost of R1 a meal), is challenging us all to a fast from 9am to 5pm to highlight the plight of more than 13.8 million South Africans who go hungry every day.
The statistics are quite staggering, and for someone who works for a food publication, it’s easy to see how food is taken for granted. I can’t count the number of times I leave a restaurant feeling as full as a tick and wishing I had maybe skipped the bread on the 7-course meal. And yet there are people who cannot even get their hands on a small scrap of bread. World Hunger Day certainly puts things into perspective. We all have a moral obligation to contribute positively to our community, to each other and to our country so let’s get with the program and do what we can, where we can, to help.
What you need to know
> 795 million people do not have enough to eat.
> 60% of those hungry in the world are women.
> 98% of the world’s undernourished live in developing countries.
> Hunger kills more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis COMBINED.
What you can do
To help the cause – you can make a donation of R35 (that’s less than the cost of two cappuccinos!). Your donation will provide food for one person for an entire month! Just think of how much you spend a month on your own groceries, and if you’re concerned about wasting food (which you should be), read how to make 7 dishes for the week out of 1 base meal.
Get social
Take part in the #R35Challenge on social media during the week leading up to World Hunger Day. Upload pics of what you are able to buy for lunch with R35 and tag us too (#Food24_sa) so we can see what you get too!
Join the fight against hunger and show your support on 27 May. Click here to make your donation and remember to use the hashtag #R35Challenge and #FastSA where you can.
Every little bit counts. (Click here to see how much support the posts on the Food Bank SA site is already getting!)