Food banking is the answer to urban hunger, more than ever

Andy du Plessis

Around one-third of all the food in South Africa goes to waste. This, in a country where roughly 24% of the population goes to bed hungry. Annually, the country loses 10 million tons of food, costing the economy $4 billion in wasted water and energy, including the price of disposal. What’s more, 90% of that waste ends up in landfills, creating further environmental damage. Andy du Plessis and his team at FoodForward South Africa feel that this woeful state of affairs is preventable. By recovering edible surplus food from the value chain – farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers – and making it available to those within reach who need it, the organization creates a scalable, replicable win-win situation for all parties involved, including the environment.

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Andy leads FoodForward South Africa, and in that way, efforts to alleviate hunger in vulnerable communities throughout South Africa.