Tue Feb 27 07:48:00 UTC 2018
Africa’s largest retailer is celebrating real heroes making a real difference in their communities by showcasing their stories on its truck fleet traversing the length and breadth of South Africa.
Nineteen of the Shoprite Group’s delivery trucks are getting a facelift with one of them featuring the image of Mickey Linda, a pensioner from Khayelitsha who feeds 250 people daily.
Mamma Mickey, as she is known, opened her soup kitchen in 2009. On her first day she fed 40 people using only her grant, but more hungry people came to her for help and she struggled to keep up.
In 2015 Shoprite heard about her and as part of its commitment to fight hunger sustainably, the retailer established a food garden on her premises. Now she uses the vegetables grown in this garden to cook nutritional meals daily.
- Mamma Mickey, Khayelitsha community hero
These trucks’ primary function is to deliver fresh produce at the lowest prices. But they are also moving billboards that share the stories of the heroes with whom Shoprite partners to act for change. These partnerships are underpinned by four high-impact pillars:
WE FIGHT HUNGER by providing effective and sustainable solutions to short-, medium- and long-term food scarcity needs across Africa.
WE EMPOWER WOMEN by working to grow and develop the businesses of those who supply into our stores and partner with them to create real change in our communities.
WE DEVELOP SKILLS to make thousands employable in the retail industry, through internal training and by making R20-million in bursaries available to hundreds of students.
WE ACTFORCHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITIES because they are our customers, employees and suppliers. Our partnerships help to grow and build these communities which ultimately ensures the success of our business.