13 June 2023
Shoprite has donated seedlings to community members in Grahamstown, East London and Gqeberha, providing them with the training and tools required to grow fruit and vegetables at home.
“We’re now also addressing food security at a household level by giving families the means to grow their own food. By improving food security in the communities we are a part of, we are ensuring they are more adaptive and resilient to a changing climate.”
- Sanjeev Raghubir, Sustainability Manager at the Shoprite Group
Community members in Grahamstown, East London & Gqeberha received seedlings from the Shoprite Group to grow their own home gardens.
This expands the support Shoprite has been giving to community food gardens in the province – including the Duncan Village Safe Park, CATCH Community Garden, Yizanazo Co-operative, Wathint’ Abafazi, Lim’uphile Agricultural Organisation, Zwide Development Forum and the Khanyisa School for the Blind gardens – since 2015.
The retailer's food garden initiative supports more than 200 community food gardens and over 3 500 home gardens across South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho, which impacts almost 55 000 beneficiaries. In the past year more than 2 700 community members were trained in sustainable food gardening and the community food gardens collectively produced a harvest of more than 31 500 kg, providing almost 100 000 meals.