It's Pumpkin Madness!
Recently our GHISA board president, Kevin McKey traveled 135 km (approximately 84 miles) to our neighboring town, De Aar to collect a load of food for our Community Centre. And we mean a load! His vehicle was weighed down with 1,146.4 pounds of pumpkins. These pumpkins will now be worked by a group of Grannies who frequent the centre, bagged and frozen for stews and soups over our fast approaching cold winter.
1,146 Pounds of Pumpkins
The food we collect once a month comes from an organization called Food Forward SA. We pay a monthly fee and in return we receive a load of food that can be just about anything. It's always a surprise or what our volunteer driver/delivery expert calls a, "lucky dip!" We have estimated our return on investment to be about tenfold. We pay approximately $20 per month plus our transport fees ($100) and receive about $12,000 worth of veggies annually. It's a real bonus in that it always boosts our kitchen supplies and for that, we are extremely grateful.
The food is sourced from various South African retailers and wholesalers who supply, about to expire food, that is close to its best before date.
When we receive a large consignment of vegetables, we gather a team to prepare it for freezing and later use.
12 Grannies Lending a Hand
The Grannies from the local “Works Program” lends us a hand to process the vegetables we receive. Last month we procured an extra delivery of cabbage which was treated the same way. The ladies make short work of a huge job and our Soup Kitchen and the children we serve meals to are the great beneficiaries. We are so grateful for their efforts! And if you've ever processed a cabbage or a pumpkin, you know what we're talking about!
Countless Bites
It's partnerships we have with you, abroad and with our neighboring communities that keep our operations diverse and responsive to the needs we have at our Centre in Richmond. Thank you for your encouragement and support. You have to love seeing the kids and them having fun while helping to off load Kevin's vehicle.