While FoodForward SA is considered the largest Foodbank on the continent of Africa, with thousands of Foodbanks scattered all over the world, this model has been in operation since the 1960s. Over the years, many have refined their service offerings, making Foodbanks critical agents of social change in communities today, addressing food insecurity challenges and reducing food loss and waste – an environmental challenge with severe climate impacts.
When Andy Du Plessis, our managing director, joined FoodForward SA 12 years ago, he had the privilege of visiting several Foodbanks all over the world to learn more about how Foodbanks were implementing this model, with the view to adapt our work in our local context.
One of the Foodbanks he visited was Houston Foodbank, the largest Foodbank in the world. Houston Foodbank was founded in 1962, employs more than 450 staff, and serves 18 counties in Southeast Texas. Led by Brian Greene, their CEO, Houston Foodbank distributes food and groceries through a network of over 1,600 community partners, including food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, schools and churches. Their annual distribution is over 150 million meals annually.
“Having spent a week at Houston Foodbank, many of our SOPs that we implement at FoodForward SA today, I learned from Houston Foodbank,” says Andy.
We were therefore thrilled when we were contacted recently by Nicole Lander, Houston Foodbank’s Chief Information Officer, requesting whether she could visit us while she was in South Africa.
Andy took Nicole on a tour of our facility, which has our national head office and our Cape Town warehouse under one roof. Nicole was inspired when we informed her of FoodShare, our digital technology being used across Woolworths, PnP, Food Lovers Market, and Spar stores nationally, which they do not as yet have in the USA. She also loved our Mother and Child Nutrition programme, our Food Gardens Connect programme, and our Mobile Rural Distribution programme.
“I am so impressed with your work and how your organisation is impacting so many communities all over the country,” says Nicole. Thank you, Nicole, for making time to visit us and we hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in beautiful South Africa.
