This November Ladles of Love is celebrating World Sandwich Day all month long! The NPO is challenging the people of Cape Town to make a whopping 50 000 sandwiches in just 8 hours.
They will be staging a Sarmiethon Challenge on 24 November at the Jetty 2 venue at the V&A Waterfront, inviting all corporates, families and groups of friends to join in the fun and raise food and funds for those in need! Teams of eight will battle against each other to make the greatest number of sandwiches over eight hours in tag-team style, offering a fun and exciting team-building activity in Cape Town all while doing good.
A recent survey shed light on the alarming number of households that go to bed on an empty stomach every night. The 2021 edition of the State of Food Security in the World states that Africa experienced the biggest jump. An estimated 21% of the people on the continent experience undernourishment. This is more than double that of any other region in the world.
In South Africa the National Income Dynamic Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey revealed that during April/May 2021 approximately 2,3 million households reported child hunger while an IPSOS study found that more than 40% of South Africans of all age groups were affected by hunger.
Founder of the Ladles of Love organisation, Danny Diliberto says “The Sandwich Drive was born in the peak of the pandemic where people made sandwiches and boiled eggs from the safety and comfort of their homes. These ready-made sandwiches and eggs would then be collected and distributed to our network of beneficiaries across the Cape Peninsula, helping feed more undernourished children and people than ever before.”
He continues “The movement exploded into a hugely successful campaign with 4.9 million sandwiches distributed to our soup kitchens serving struggling communities across the Cape Peninsula. These simple sandwiches have become a lifeline for beneficiaries in the community. With the help of our partners Coronation Fund Managers, V&A Waterfront, Blue Ribbon and Rhodes Quality we are staging a Sarmiethon and invite you to help us reach our target of 50 000 sarmies on World Sandwich Day and 5 million sarmies since lockdown. Together let’s make Cape Town the “City of Sarmies”.
“We are supporting this amazing campaign because hunger is a critical issue that we care about deeply,” said Anton Pillay, CEO of Coronation.
“The reality is that an estimated 30 million people in South Africa are food insecure and 10 million suffer real hunger daily. In Cape Town the sad reality is that about 14 300 people lived on the streets in 2020, almost triple the number from the year before, according to a recent study. Hunger, homelessness and desperation skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic and we’re not out of the woods yet.
“Yes, donor fatigue is setting in, but as a society we can’t afford to stop caring. Every small effort adds up, and we can make a difference, because we are #strongertogether. It’s for this reason that Coronation remains committed to the cause of hunger relief, and why we are supporting the wonderful Ladles of Love Sarmiethon campaign. Let’s rally together Cape Town, to achieve our goal of making 50 000 sandwiches for our homeless and indigent neighbours who need our help,” said Pillay.
Wendy Bergsteedt, CSI Champion from Coronation said a group of volunteers from Coronation is participating in the sandwich-making challenge at Jetty 2 at the V&A Waterfront on 24 November, and the company was also partnering with Ladles of Love as an official sponsor of the event.
People can join the Sarmiethon by visiting www.ladlesoflove.org.za where you can sign up a corporate team, a private team or if you are unable to join a team – you can simply pay forward a sarmie for just R5!
Teams entering the Sarmiethon need only bring their competitive spirit because Blue Ribbon and Rhodes Quality are generously supplying all the bread and jam for the Sarmiethon. “Challenge your family, friends and colleagues and help make sandwiches for our communities in need,” says Diliberto.
This Sarmiethon challenge will be done with Covid-safety in mind. Foot-pedal sanitising stations, compulsory face-masks, and social distancing practices will all be followed and enforced throughout the day.
