In a country where one-third of all food produced ends up in landfills while over 14 million people face hunger, FoodForward SA has emerged as a critical force for change. As the largest food distribution organisation in South Africa, it provides a crucial lifeline of hope by rescuing edible, nutritious food and redirecting it to those most in need.
Established in 2009, FoodForward SA operates on a simple yet profoundly impactful model known as food banking. “Food Forward South Africa is a food bank, a registered food bank, the only registered food bank in South Africa and the largest food bank in Africa,” explains Mahbobah Bobbie Jacobs, the organisation’s Fund Development Manager.
“We basically recover surplus food from within the food system, so from farmers, from agri-processors, from manufacturers, from retailers, and then we take those food into our warehouses, we sort them, we repurpose it.”
This repurposed food is then distributed through an extensive, vetted network of 2 500 beneficiary organisations (BOs) across all nine provinces. These BOs include soup kitchens, early childhood development (ECD) centres, shelters for the vulnerable, and homes for the elderly. Through this network, FoodForward SA reaches approximately 935 000 people every day, providing them with daily, nutritious meals.
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An Efficient Model Tackling a National Crisis
The scale of food waste in South Africa is staggering. “There’s still about 10 million tons of food every year in South Africa that does go to waste,” Jacobs states, a fact she believes “should outrage people.”
This waste occurs for various reasons. For farmers, it can be more expensive to transport surplus produce to a secondary market than to simply plough it back into the soil. For manufacturers and retailers, high cosmetic standards can lead to entire batches of perfectly good food being rejected for minor issues like a skewed label or a small dent.
FoodForward SA steps into this gap, offering a logistical solution that is both socially and environmentally beneficial. By partnering with major wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers, the organisation not only prevents food from ending up in landfills, where it would release harmful gases, but also ensures it nourishes communities.
The efficiency of this model is remarkable. “We try and run a very efficient organization,” says Jacobs. “And at the present moment, we are able to produce meals for 50 cents.” This incredible cost-effectiveness is made possible through the donation of surplus food and the support of corporate partners, donors, and volunteers.
The organisation’s reach extends far beyond urban centres. While it operates warehouses in five provinces — Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), and the Free State — it also runs 34 “mobile rural depots.” These routes ensure that trucks deliver food monthly to rural communities in Mpumalanga, the North West, the Eastern Cape, and the Northern Cape, provinces where a physical warehouse is not present.
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Beyond Food: Cultivating Sustainable Futures
While its core mission is to alleviate hunger, FoodForward SA uses food as a catalyst for broader social development. The organisation is expanding innovative programmes aimed at creating long-term solutions.
One such initiative is the Food Gardens Connect programme. Currently being piloted in the Western Cape, this programme establishes sustainable food gardens at beneficiary organisations. FoodForward SA supplies all the necessary inputs, from seedlings and compost to tools and training for unemployed individuals. At the end of a harvest, participants can use the produce themselves or sell it back to FoodForward SA, creating a vital income-generation opportunity.
Another key focus is the Mother and Child programme, which targets malnutrition and stunting in children under five. In partnership with local clinics, the programme provides high-protein meal boxes to mothers and children identified as being at risk, addressing a critical health issue at its root.
These initiatives demonstrate a commitment not just to feeding people today, but to building a more resilient and food-secure future, offering a true lifeline of hope for generations to come.
