The Shoprite Group is commemorating World Food Day this October by reaffirming its commitment to fighting hunger in the communities in which it operates.

World Food Day, celebrated on October 16 every year, is an international day of action against hunger, with people from around the world coming together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger in our lifetime.

Africa’s largest food retailer is collaborating with key role players working to fight hunger throughout the month and is inviting consumers to join forces with it to achieve an even greater impact.

During October, proceeds from the Group’s #ActForChange Fund will be donated to the Lunchbox Fund to help provide a daily meal for orphaned and at-risk school children where there is an identified need. The #ActForChange Fund, launched in March 2016 in response to requests from consumers wanting to contribute to disaster and hunger relief initiatives in their local communities, has already raised over R700,000 for drought and hunger relief efforts through customer donations.

Customers can donate to the Fund by simply adding R5 or more to their purchase at any Shoprite or Checkers till point across the country. The Lunchbox Fund is able to provide one daily meal to a child for just R2.50, which means that a donation of just R5 will provide two meals a day.

In addition to this, The Group, through its Checkers stores, has partnered with FoodForward SA (previously known as FoodBank SA) in support of a food drive to collect as many non-perishable food items to feed hungry South Africans.

From Thursday 13 October to Sunday 16 October, teams from FoodForward SA will be collecting non-perishable food items at The Mall of Africa in Midrand and Blue Route Mall in Cape Town. Customers can get involved by donating non-perishable items directly at the FoodForward SA collection stands that will be located in each Mall, or purchasing these items at the Checkers Hyper stores in these centres and dropping them off at the FoodForward SA collection point’s in-store.

Hunger relief is core focus of the Shoprite Group’s corporate social investment strategy, with a robust programme in place to address the food security challenges faced by many people across the continent on a daily basis.

For more information on these initiatives and the impactful work already being undertaken to address the issue of hunger in South Africa, check out:

http://www.shopriteholdings.co.za/Pages/home.aspx

http://thelunchboxfund.org/

www.foodforwardsa.org