Pre-COVID19 Food Spend in Cape Town
% of income spent on food for poor families
66%
Pre-COVID19 Food Security in Cape Town
% of households severely food insecure
36%

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat” – Jesus (Matthew 25)

We recognise the severity of the current food crisis, and are committed to acting in response to it. We want to acknowledge the work that many churches and other organisations are already doing to address this crisis in their local communities and across the province. These actions are generally happening in the following ways:

• Community feeding kitchens providing prepared meals at a central location or distributed across the community.
• Collation and distribution of food parcels to vulnerable families.
• Distribution of SMS vouchers redeemable at partner stores.

These initiatives, activated and implemented by local communities need to be encouraged, strengthened and shared.

In the Western Cape, the WCEN COVID Task Team and RESPOND Coalition, supported by The Warehouse, have developed a solution that sends cash vouchers via sms to beneficiaries identified by local community leaders and church networks. These vouchers can be used at any Shoprite, PicknPay, Usave, Checkers or Boxer stores, in full or in part, to purchase food and other essential items. Operational costs are funded by a designated grant enabling 99% of funds getting directly to the beneficiary.

Why vouchers?

• The Hope voucher system ensures that any person in South Africa who has access to a cellphone can be recipient, no matter how urban or rural their location.
• The Hope voucher system avoids all potential points of infection which are involved in collecting, preparing and distributing food parcels.
• The Hope voucher system ensures that money is spent within the local community, helping to strengthen the local economy from local spaza shop owners to staff of local supermarkets.
• The Hope voucher gives the individual receiving it the autonomy and dignity to choose which foods would be best for them and their family.

The Warehouse Trust is a Section 18A Public Benefit Organisation making all donations to the project tax-deductible. It is governed by a Board of ten Trustees and is independently audited on an annual basis. A specifically designated account will be utilised for the voucher related transactions.

                                    <img width="702" height="195" src="https://www.warehouse.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WCENlogo.png" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.warehouse.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WCENlogo.png?w=702&amp;ssl=1 702w, https://i0.wp.com/www.warehouse.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WCENlogo.png?resize=300%2C83&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" />
                                    <img width="320" height="240" src="https://www.warehouse.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Copy-of-RESPOND_logo_gen2_s1-1.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.warehouse.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Copy-of-RESPOND_logo_gen2_s1-1.jpg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w, https://i0.wp.com/www.warehouse.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Copy-of-RESPOND_logo_gen2_s1-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" />