More Covid-19 relief to feed vulnerable communities
22 April 2021
The City of Cape Town is continuing to provide humanitarian food relief to vulnerable communities adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as R15 million additional funding was recently approved by Council.
Since April last year, a total of R39 million has been provided towards critical food aid relief, which has been a vital lifeline to residents experiencing the financial impact of the lockdown.
‘As a result of the severe impact of the national coronavirus lockdown, many residents have struggled to put food on the table. It is clear government support must be extended through food aid, and local soup kitchens. These donations are intended to assist organisations feeding residents in need and, as a caring city, we are doing all we can. The need for assistance remains, even as some people have returned to work.
‘Lives and livelihoods have been severely affected by Covid-19. The ability to earn an income means residents can contribute to the economy, create jobs for others and build dignity through being able to provide for their families. This is something many residents have not been able to do because of the impact of the national Covid-19 lockdown. The hardship experienced by many through the loss of income is something we are acutely aware of. We have a duty to assist our residents,’ said the City’s Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato.
To date, these funds include the following:
Approximately R14 million from the Mayor’s Relief Fund has been spent to support a major food relief drive, which included equipping soup kitchens, and providing other food relief where soup kitchens were not established. To date, 262 soup kitchens have received equipment and ingredients, bolstering their capacity to feed over 200 000 residents in need, every single day, during lockdown.
The grant-in-aid R10 million that was approved in January by Council is being rolled out to 14 qualifying registered non-governmental organisations (NGO), public benefit organisations (PBO) or non-profit organisations (NPO) that applied to issue relief within the municipal boundaries of the City of Cape Town to prepare and distribute cooked meals directly to vulnerable communities. These successful organisations which met the relevant requirements, were also appointed to supervise community-based organisations in their preparation and distribution of cooked meals.
Most recently, R15 million was approved by Council in March as part of the Budget Adjustment process. Applications from registered NGOs, PBOs or NPOs are currently being assessed.
Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Management Alderman Grant Twigg visited a food distribution point, managed by NGO 9Miles Project, in Strandfontein, recently.
'We are very grateful for what the City of Cape Town is doing for our community here. This helps us a lot as many of us lost our jobs during Covid-19,’ said Jacqueline Titus from Masincedani Informal Settlement.
‘It is heart-warming to see the City’s funding in action, which is providing food relief to our vulnerable communities as a result of the impact that the pandemic has had on homes. We want to thank everyone who is and has been playing a role in implementing and providing this relief programme, including City staff, and the community-based organisations,’ said Alderman Twigg.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
