Why Students In South Africa Are Turning To Food Banks
Before the pandemic around a third of university students in South Africa were going to class hungry, according to research.
Now that problem is getting worse as part-time jobs have dried up during lockdown, and studentsâ families have lost work.
Bianca Nonhlanhla Skhosana is a fourth-year medical student at the University of The Witwaterstrand in Johannesburg. She is one of hundreds of students at the university who have had to turn to a food parcel programme for help.
Reporter and video journalist: Olivia Le Poidevin, BBC Minute
What Can You Get For Free In South Africa
Un Condemns Execution Of Four South Sudan Rebels
JUBA, Sept. 28 — The United Nations Mission in South Sudan on Wednesday said the inter-communal conflict in South Sudan continues to fuel repeated cycles of violence, warning that it might potentially erode the gains made toward sustaining peace across South Sudan.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General to South Sudan Nicolas Haysom said fighting between rival factions in Upper Nile and parts of Jonglei States has caused massive displacement of civilians to seek refuge in the UN bases in Malakal town, the capital of Upper Nile State.
“The fighting between Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition forces and the Kitgwang and Agwelek factions has displaced thousands of people within Upper Nile, to Jonglei, Unity states, and parts of Sudan,” Haysom told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
He said more than 14,000 have been displaced and sought refuge at the Malakal Protection of Civilians site.
Haysom said that the mission is working with State authorities and humanitarian agencies to support sustainable solutions in Malakal to mitigate overcrowding, and outbreaks of disease, as well as maintain peace within the community living within the UN Protection of Civilians site.
In recent days, the Twic/Ngok Dinka conflict has created a new wave of refugees in Abyei, Warrap, and Northern Bahr El Ghazal.
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South Sudan African Development Bank Launch Project To Boost Food Production
- Xinhua, September 29, 2022
JUBA, Sept. 28 — South Sudan in partnership with the African Development Bank on Wednesday launched a two-year program focused on boosting food production and strengthening community resilience.
Josephine Lagu, minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said the South Sudan Emergency Food Production Program will focus on the production of sorghum, cowpea and rice in the states of Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Western Bahr El Ghazal, Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria and Upper Nile.
“The number of counties that are going to be supported I think is about nine or more and this will be spread across our country, it is not going just to be limited to one state, as you have seen we have people who have come from Western Bahr El Ghazal, Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Jonglei, and Western Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria state,” Lagu told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The 8.4 million U.S. dollar program is funded by AfDB through its Transition Support Facility and will be implemented by the South Sudan government and the Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Country Representative of FAO Meschak Malo disclosed that this program aims to reduce South Sudan’s current annual food deficit standing at 545,000 metric tons by increasing production within the next two years to the target of 1.3 million metric tons needed to reduce prevailing food insecurity.
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Food Bank South Africa

If you want to pick a fight with me, just tell me we need genetically modified food in order to feed the worlds growing population. It wont take more than a few seconds before I am ranting and raving. There is more than enough food to feed the world, but people still go hungry. Thats because the problem is not food supply, its economics. Capitalism wont allow us to feed people cheaply because it will affect the price of the food that is being sold by big corporates.
Did you know that globally, on average, 30% of food is lost? This loss is either happens either on the production side or on the retail side. The production side refers to the process from harvest to shelf and in that process food can get damaged, be misshapen, go rotten, etc. The retail side is the time from being on the supermarket shelf to being eaten and waste on this side can be unsold goods which are past sell-by date, unused groceries which go off in our fridge and wasted food left over from meals. This National Geographic article goes into detail about this, with scary statistics. The article does look at the situation globally, but a lot of the focus is on America. We may be tempted to think that South Africa is different, but unfortunately the research seems to show that we are worse!
This Christmas, why not follow Shoprites lead and #ShareForGood? Donate some food to those around you who are in need.
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Below Are The List Of Food Banks In South Africa
Tshwane Food Bank
Address: 278 Brander St, Jan Niemand Park, Pretoria, 0184, South Africa
Phone: +27 12 800 2775
Food Forward
Address: Unit 2b Trio Park 2 8 Shepstone Rd, New Germany, Durban, 3620, South Africa
Hours: Closed Opens 7:30AM Thu
Phone: +27 31 569 2427
AFRICA FOOD BASKET
Address: 1st Floor, Bank Chambers Building, 144 Longmarket St, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 426 1813.
The Joburg Market Foodbank
FoodBank is a Joburg Market initiative run in conjunction with the City of Joburg’s Department of Social Development. The programme was officially launched on, 22 June 2005 and aims to provide for the immediate and basic needs of the most vulnerable in our society and the indigent.
FoodBank does not deal with individuals but registered non-government organizations that meets the following requirements:
- Have an NGO profile
- Must produce NPO (non profitable
- organization) certificate and
- Must have completed a registration form from the FoodBank.
FoodBank relies on donors in order to fulfil its mandate. Some of the donors who give generously include the farmers, market agents, exporters and retailers.
The market’s own food technicians determine which of the donated food is fit for human consumption. Thus, all produce donated go through a quality assurance inspection to ensure that it is fit for human consumption.
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Does South Africa Have Food Banks
FoodBank South Africa is South Africas leading national foodbanking network, established in 2009, is a member of the Global Foodbanking Network.
FBSA has food banks in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Port Elizabeth, and is in the process of rolling out more food banks countrywide.
Foodbank Launching New Name Foodforward Sa
While name may have changed, commitment to addressing hunger in South Africa remains steadfast. FoodForward SAs mandate is to collect edible surplus food from manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, and redistributes this food to hundreds of verified NPOs that collectively feed thousands of hungry people across South Africa.
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Top 12 Best And Most Popular Banks In South Africa
1. Standard Bank: The Standard Bank Group is a big South African banking and financial services company that is widely recognized as Africas largest lender in terms of total assets. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services. With its headquarters in Johannesburgs Simmonds Street, the Group has been operating in South Africa for 155 years. When it comes to offering top-notch financial services to South Africans and the rest of the world, it is at the top of our list.
South Africas best and worst banks according to customers
Personal and Business Banking, Corporate and Investment Financial, and Liberty Holdings Limited are the three divisions of the Standard banking group. Besides the banking services it provides to South Africans, Transactional banking, saving, borrowing, and lending, investing, insurance, risk management, wealth management, and consulting services are all available through the Standard Bank.
In addition, Standard Bank provides fixed income, currencies, commodities, and equity services to the global market. Customers can use the banks investment banking services, which include advising, debt products, structured trade and commodities finance, debt capital markets, and equity capital markets.
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Which bank is best for investment in South Africa
big 4 banks in South Africa
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Southern Africas Top Banks
List Of Banks In South Africa
List of Banks in South Africa Banking system in South Africa includes 10 locally controlled banks, 7 foreign controlled banks, 3 mutual banks, 2 co-operative banks as well as over 50 branches and representative offices of foreign banks across the country.
The total assets of banking sector amounted to approximately ZAR 6 trillion as at 2018 according to a data from South African Reserve Bank.
VISA and Mastercard are among the most common card types in South Africa. When withdrawing money using your debit card at an ATM, you wont usually be charged a flat fee at the ATM, but will instead pay the standard withdrawal fees associated with your account.
These fees vary significantly depending on the terms of your account.
We have the Banks in South Africa with a little overview of the individual banks below.
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Who Founded Food Forward Sa
I want to feed all South Africans without hunger, he says. He continued: Andy Du Plessis. Several hundred local organizations are also beneficiaries and have been supported by the organisation since 2009. There are preschool programs, youth centers, womens empowerment groups, and care homes throughout South Africa.
South Africa: Food Banks To Curb Hunger

Davison Makanga
CAPE TOWN, Mar 26 2009 – In yet another attempt to bolster food security in the country, a charity organisation has opened a food bank in Cape Town which will operate like a huge warehouse from which food is handed out to the poor.The food banking concept is the latest of a raft of measures taken by both non-governmental organisations and the government to curb poverty, such as the distribution of food parcels, vouchers and social grants.
Patrick Andries, executive director of Food Bank South Africa, says the programme, which is planned to be rolled out countrywide, aims to assist the 20 million poor South Africans who are living under the poverty line of $1 a day.
The basic concept of food banking is that you have a centralised warehouse facility where you collect food via donor agencies, food manufacturers, farmers, wherever food is available. We bring that food into the warehouse, store and repackage it and get it out to communities in need, explained Andries.
However, questions remain if initiatives like Food Bank South Africa are only short-term solutions to the long-term problem of food security in one of the continents most advanced economies.
Statistics South Africa reported that inflation of food prices reached 16.1 percent year on year in January, shockingly high compared to declining global trends in the United States, for instance, inflation of food prices was at 2.7 percent year on year and 3.2 percent in the United Kingdom.
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Food Bank For Tshwane
Pretoria – The Food Bank was launched today at the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market. It is hoped that thousands will be fed through this initiative to reduce poverty numbers.
The City of Tshwane, Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa and Food Bank South Africa, signed a pledge to help feed those in need.
Homeless shelters currently provide hot meals to people residing at their facilities and those living on the streets. The Food Bank will help alleviate the pressure by providing nourishment to more people in need.
Most of the fresh produce will be taken from Tshwane Fresh Produce Market, while dry groceries will be sourced through donations from private businesses.
The city’s Health and Social Development Department is developing a database of non-profit organisations in the City of Tshwane involved with feeding schemes.
The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, said she was relieved that more vulnerable people would get the sustenance they needed when they could not afford to buy their own food.
Food Banks Reach Out To The Needy
10 November 2009
The South African government, working through four food banks, has distributed up to 600 tons of food to more than 100 000 people in need of emergency food relief since May, says Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge.
Briefing the media in Cape Town this week, Doidge said that the four food banks, located in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, had distributed food through 900 agencies.
Food bank network
Each food bank acts on behalf of social services agencies, by procuring food which is mainly donated by the food and grocery industries, government agencies, individuals and other organisations.
The government plans to have a food bank, complemented by a network of village food banks, set up in each of the countrys nine provinces.
The food banks are being set up under FoodBank South Africa, a non-profit organisation formed by the South African Forum for Food Security a partnership between government, civil society and the corporate sector.
Public-private partnerships
South Africa and sub-Saharas first food bank was launched in Cape Town in March, and already a number of countries around the world have set up their own networks of food banks.
We are grateful to the civil society and corporate sector for their cooperation in setting up the SA Food Bank and the community food bank networks, Doidge said. This is the kind of partnership that our country needs during these hard economic times.
Micro farming projects
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Foodbank Sa Launches Double Gift Match Campaign You Can Make A Difference
29 September 2014: Statistics released in August 2013 by the Human Sciences Research Council show that more than half of South Africans do not have regular access to food and only 45.6% of the countrys population has food security.
Andy Du Plessis, Managing Director of FoodBank SA, says that these figures highlight the importance of raising awareness around food security in the country. More than 11 million South Africans go hungry each day. In an effort to address this growing issue, FoodBank SA will be launching a FoodBank SA Double Gift Match fundraising campaign.
Currently, it costs FoodBank SA only R1.35 to provide a meal to one hungry person. The Double Gift Match campaign, which launched on the 16th of September and will run up until 28 February 2015, encourages all South Africans to help FoodBank SA to raise a total of R2 million which will be doubled to provide over 2,9 million meals for those who need it most.
For every R1 that the public donate to the FoodBank SAs Double Gift Match campaign, an anonymous donor will match this amount to allow FoodBank SA to receive a doubled contribution, making twice the impact, explains Du Plessis.
Anyone can make a donation and every donation helps. Visit FoodBank SAs new website at www.foodbank.org.za. The donation will automatically be doubled during the campaign period. This applies to all new donors and donors who increase their commitment to FoodBank SA, he adds.
About FoodBank South Africa:
Foodbank Stormers Do It For Madiba
The DHL Stormers, along with Mayor Patricia de Lille and a number of companies and other organisations, rolled up their sleeves and packed food hampers to be distributed to the poor via FoodBank SA.
This Mandela Day, FoodBank South Africa is celebrating five years of providing food to over 1,000 community-based organisations across SA.
Since its formation in 2009, food to the equivalent of over 50-million meals has been distributed into impoverished communities via FoodBanks partner non-profit organisations.
And, on Thursday, the Mayor handed over food hampers she and her staff had packed, to Bryan Habana, FoodBank SAs Patron and a star player for the DHL Stormers and Western Province, at the Cape Town Civic Centre.
With the overarching objective of Mandela Day being to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so, to build a global movement for good, Habana encouraged people to donate their time to fighting hunger and malnutrition on Mandela Day.
A shocking and tragic 11-million South Africans are food insecure and what better day than Mandela Day for South Africans and South African corporates to get involved in helping the poor, said Habana, who is packing his bags to further his career with top French club Toulon.
SMS the word FoodBank to 40421 to make a R20 donation, which will enable FoodBank to provide food with which to feed 12 hungry people.
Visit www.foodbank.org.za to find out how YOU can make a difference!
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Best Banks In South Africa 202: Top 12 Most Reliable
Best Banks In South Africa 2022:A bank is a regulated financial entity that accepts deposits and lends money. Banks may provide financial services such as wealth management, currency exchange, and safe deposit boxes. The different types of banks available include commercial, retail banks, corporate banks, investment banks. In most countries, banks are regulated by the national government or central bank.
South Africa is a developing country with a modern banking system that aids in the ease of conducting business. Because of the countrys efficient financial channels and extensive banking networks, it is internationally capable of offering global banking services, and several well-known regional, national, and worldwide banks are active in South Africa.
The banking system in South Africa is regulated by the South African Reserve Bank. It collaborates with the government on economic policy formulation and implementation. The Reserve Bank of South Africa is in charge of maintaining the value of the rand and keeping inflation under control.
Following that, this article will look at the best banks in South Africa as of 2022, in no particular order.
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