In the hardest days of lockdown, a seed of hope named The People’s Pantry was planted. It was a lifeline for many at the time and has only gone on to grow. Today, 500 people are able to access food weekly, while a unique swop shop is giving people the essentials for the price of recycling.
Lorentzville, South Africa (04 December 2024) — Like many other parts of South Africa, the hard COVID-19 lockdown hit Johannesburg’s Makers Valley like a ton of bricks. At the time, the area already faced pressing social challenges like unemployment and poverty. But when lockdown struck, tough times got tougher. It was here, in the midst of so much uncertainty and stress, that a little seed of hope was planted. Its name was The People’s Pantry.
Meet the People’s Pantry
Operating in the territory of deep food insecurity, The People’s Pantry started out as an emergency food intervention initiative. It was a humble soup kitchen and food parcel collection point that offered immediate relief to immediate problems.
But as time went on, The People’s Pantry became something more.
It became a response to a broken food system, a registered non-profit organisation, and a way for people to empower themselves, together.
Makers Valley is made up of different low-income communities. Bertrams, Lorentzville, Bez Valley, Troyeville and Judith’s Paarl are all part of the Valley, and each community faces its own difficulties. The People’s Pantry offers hope to these people, not just through the five community kitchens it services with rescued food (these feed about 500 people a week) but also through its ingenious Swop Shop.
To date, the organisation has rescued over 650 tons of food.
The Swop Shop
At the Swop Shop, people are rewarded for recycling. They earn points after dropping off recyclables at a depot in Frere Street and can then exchange these points for food and basic hygiene items. The food is rescued, meaning it would otherwise go to waste, and it is largely provided by different food companies that won’t miss it.
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The Swop Shop model is able to help around 140 community members weekly and addresses key areas of importance: food insecurity, food waste and recycling promotion.
Thanks to this model and the soup kitchens, The People’s Pantry can now address both immediate challenges and longer-term challenges.
Future-wise, the team is looking at expanding and transforming. The idea of community food sovereignty is a hot topic, and plans to grow into a solidarity supermarket are present. This could mean more affordable food choices, localisation and community involvement in their own food supply.
However, in the short-term and especially over the December period, helping hands are needed to help the Pantry and its shop keep on keeping on. Team members like Executive Director Sandra van Oostenbrugge receive requests for help weekly, and so donations of essential items are always helpful.
Contributions to Consider
- Fresh fruit and veggies
- Hygiene products
- School stationery
- Veggie and herb seedlings
- Kitchen equipment (a stove in working condition), pots, plates, cutlery and crockery for the teaching kitchen
- Capacity building (skills training in niches like web development, maintenance, digital content creation, and communications)
- Facilitation training (to help the team lead workshops and community engagements)
- Fundraising and communication support
You can connect with The People’s Pantry via sandra@thepeoplespantry.org.za or learn more about them here.
Sources: GTG Interview
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