The Shoprite Group’s Act For Change discount buying card is helping welfare organisations across the country to bring much-needed relief to vulnerable communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent study on the extent of the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus lockdown on South Africans found that at  least 3 million people lost their jobs between February and April 2020, of which two million were black women. One in five respondents said that someone in the household went hungry in the last week and one in seven respondents said that a child went hungry in the last week.

Vulnerable groups have been disproportionately negatively affected by the crisis. 

With the Act For Change card, qualifying non-profit organisations (NPO’s) working to help these groups receive a 5% discount across the Group’s outlets including Shoprite, Checkers, Checkers Hyper, Usave, House & Home, MediRite and OK Furniture.

The card is available to registered non-profit organisations and gives them 30 days to pay with no interest, no admin, annual or renewal fees, which helps to make their funds go a little further.

Donors can make donations directly into the card to ensure their money is spent only on items that can be bought from Shoprite Group stores.

Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) works with social pensioners, and has seen an increase in pension-headed households, which puts enormous pressure on families from a food security point of view, according to director Anne Dobson. “We pass on the Act For Change card discounts to them. This is a very dignified way to try to assist those who are economically vulnerable. Shoprite enables us to leverage our status as a NGO to get discounted goods for the people who need them most.”

The VUSA Rugby and Learning Academy “would not exist if not for Shoprite and its Act For Change programme,” according to its coordinator Brendan Fogarty. “We have a long association with Shoprite and have been able to use our Act For Change card during the lockdown to purchase food. It has been a massive help.”

The Act For Change card is one of the Group’s many initiatives to help address the desperate need for food and essential goods in South Africa. Since the start of the lockdown the Group has provided more than 11 million meals, by donating R32 million in surplus food to 290 vetted beneficiary organisations and delivering 1.2 million meals to 1 865 organisations through its Mobile Soup Kitchens.