The Shoprite Group is further expanding its support of KwaZulu-Natal communities by investing in an additional 30 food gardens in the province. This builds on the success of the more than 15 gardens, including Thubelihle Special Opportunity School and Hlabana Magalele Supplies, in the province already supported by Shoprite and Checkers.
The retailer is incubating several food gardens in Mfume, Maqongqo, Inanda, KwaMashu and Newlands West and has distributed seedlings, fertiliser, gardening tools and more to assist community members to start and grow sustainable food gardens. Beneficiaries also received a training session on how to take care of their gardens.
“The Shoprite Group is further extending its support to communities in KwaZulu-Natal following last year’s unrest. With this programme we aim to empower them and ensure that the gardens are supported during each of the stages of growth,” said Sanjeev Raghubir, sustainability manager at the Shoprite Group. “Communities are struggling due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, and this programme will provide much needed relief.”
Supporting food gardens is one of the many ways in which the Group ensures food security in under-resourced and vulnerable communities across South Africa. It supports more than 150 food gardens and over 2,500 home gardens – which impacts almost 17,000 beneficiaries – and in the past year trained more than 570 community members in sustainable food gardening.
