“We have had to extend our campaign by one week because we haven’t met our target number of cans for this year,” said Marketing and Sales Manager of Eikestad Mall Ronelle le Roux.
The Stellenbosch Can initiative has extended its donation deadline to Friday the 8th of June in an effort to encourage community members to donate canned food.
The Can campaign which started in 2015, runs from March to May of each year and it aims to mobilise the entire community to relieve hunger in the broader Stellenbosch municipal area. The target number of cans for this year was 20,000 but Le Roux said they currently have significantly fewer cans than they had hoped for.
WATCH: Stellenbosch Can initiative calls on locals to donate cans
Eikestad Mall, MFM 92.6, and Eikestad Nuus are the partners involved in the initiative, while the non-profit organisation Stellenbosch Feeding in Action receives the donated cans at the end of the campaign and is responsible for distributing cooked meals to 45 various feeding points across 25 local communities.
The organisation supplies meals and food parcels to approximately 5000 people each week. For over 20 years it has been driving a sustainable feeding programme to support those who face dire food insecurity.
“The Can initiative is a fantastic way to reach a large platform. If you contribute to the initiative, you contribute to many communities of hungry and needy people who rely on donations,” said Feeding in Action Campaign Project Manager Liesel Koen.
“A big challenge for us is to have enough food for all the requests we receive from disadvantaged families and communities. That’s where the campaign plays such a valuable role in enabling us to provide food for them. We are very dependent on the support of the community and donations,” Koen continued.
“Ons waardeer die kos wat ons kry. Hulle maak die lekkerste ete vir ons.” (We appreciate the food we are given. They make the nicest meals for us), said Ida’s Valley resident Joyce Daniels.
Le Roux said that locals can make use of the two drop-off points in Eikestad Mall, one outside of Checkers and another outside of Game. “We all have a social responsibility to look after the people in our community,” she said.
The Stellenbosch Can box will ‘thank’ you each time you donate. PHOTOS: Kelly-Jane Turner.
MFM 92.6 Lunch show presenters Celest Anthony and Samantha Futter said they encourage locals to donate their cans of food at the MFM office drop-off on the third floor of the Neelsi. “Together we can make a difference, one can at a time,” said Anthony.
Stellenbosch Can initiative infographic by Kelly-Jane Turner.