“Caring for the communities surrounding our partner farms and packhouses has been a value upon which we’ve acted since the establishment of our business,” says Adéle Ackermann, marketing manager for ClemenGold International. “Fruit is our business and donating Vitamin C-rich citrus is a logical way of contributing towards helping communities to thrive.” The company has just announced a partnership with SA Harvest, a registered NPO and leading food rescue and hunger relief organisation, whereby 1,000 tonnes of citrus will be donated during the 2023 citrus season. The first 68 tonnes have been dispatched from the Twypack packhouse (Nelspruit) to receiving communities in Durban. In a bid to reduce food waste and hunger in South Africa, SA Harvest drives initiatives such as these to channel surplus food from farms, manufacturers, and retailers to those in need.
ClemenGold®, the global mandarin brand with its roots in South Africa, annually distributes more than four million pieces of citrus to some 160 000 beneficiaries at crèches, old age homes, hospitals, schools and other non-profit institutions in areas where nutrition is a daily challenge. “However, we have limited ability to handle the logistics of such actions, and taking hands with SA Harvest enables us to have an even bigger impact and reach areas beyond our immediate surroundings,” says Ackermann.
According to Lucille Strecker, overseeing the company’s corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives, the donated fruit is usually used for fulfilling the company’s juice programmes. “But we’ve long since made the decision to, where possible, serve our communities in any way possible. While we also have numerous CSI projects in place with a focus on early childhood development and socio-economic development, donating fruit addresses vital issues such as hunger and health.”
“Delivering nutritious food is a cornerstone of SA Harvest’s philosophy. We believe that every South African deserves not just access to food, but access to nutritious food,” explains Alan Browde, CEO and founder of SA Harvest. “Food-insecure communities often face significant barriers to accessing nutritious food, resulting in issues such as starch-excess obesity, malnourishment, and various diet-related health conditions. Through our network of vetted beneficiary organisations, including ECD centres, soup kitchens, old age facilities, and community outreach programs, this donation of citrus fruit will directly impact and nourish individuals in these communities who need it most, particularly children.”
SA Harvest has reached out to logistics and transport companies to come on board and support the massive logistical undertaking of transporting 68 tonnes of fruit every week from Nelspruit to either Durban or Johannesburg. Says Ozzy Nel, Chief Operating Officer of SA Harvest, “The donation of the fruit is the first valuable piece of the food rescue puzzle, but we need enablers alongside us for the next steps in ensuring that this nutritious, vitamin-rich fruit reaches our beneficiary organisations in Durban and Johannesburg. We are enormously grateful to the OneFarm Share programme, a remarkable initiative by HelloChoice and Standard Bank, for supplying us with CHEP bins in which to transport the loose fruit, and to our transport partners, Unitrans, Lee Transport, Value Logistics, Teralco Logistics and Allied Transport.”
