(Pretoria) – Centurion residents joined volunteers in seven cities across South Africa to pack thousands of meals for impoverished local communities as part of the Rise Against Hunger challenge in honour of Mandela Day.

GOOD NEWS: Forest Hill City marketing manager Annah Moremela (standing, far right) with community volunteers who helped to pack over 44,000 meals at the shopping centre on Saturday as part of the Rise Against Hunger campaign.

On Saturday (July 22), more than 60 volunteers from the Monavoni and Laudium communities and members of the Hatfield Christian Church South congregation joined Forest Hill City centre management to pack the targeted 44,064 meals in just five hours.

Forest Hill City marketing manager Annah Moremela said the meal packs would be distributed to beneficiaries in the Mooiplaas community and surrounding areas via local feeding programmes, with 10% being allocated to Rise Against Hunger’s chosen charity.

“Our volunteers worked incredibly hard, dedicating much more than the recommended 67 minutes of community service to help us achieve our target,” said Moremela.

She said the food parcels distributed by Rise Against Hunger included nutritious staple foods such as rice, soya and dehydrated vegetables, plus an essential vitamin and mineral supplement, in compliance with the Unicef standard for combating malnutrition.

According to the General Household Survey results released by Statistics South Africa in May, 22.3% of South African households have inadequate or severely inadequate access to food.

“The foodstuffs in the meal packs are non-perishable and each pack can feed a family of up to six people. So, the meals we packed will provide much-needed sustenance for thousands of families in need in communities on our doorstep,” said Moremela.

Rebosis Property Fund, which owns Forest Hill City, committed R150 000 to the initiative. Last year, shoppers helped the mall to pack more than 10,000 meals on Human Rights Day.

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