SA Harvest calls for reduction in food wastage
A food rescue and hunger relief group is calling on the logistics industry to come on board to help reduce food wastage and hunger.
SA Harvest said beneficiary organisations are in urgent need of assistance.
"We are calling on the logistics and transport industry to support us in ensuring that this nutritious, vitamin-rich fruit reaches our beneficiary organisations," said CEO Alan Browde.
Farmers have so far donated over 1000-tonnes of fruit that need to be transported, every week, from a packhouse in Nelspruit to organisations in Durban and Johannesburg.
With over 10.3 million tonnes of edible food wasted in the country annually, the company says it’s trying to bridge the gap by rescuing surplus food from farms and passing it on to those in need.
Browde said the logistics industry can help speed up the food rescue operation by coordinating with food donors, collecting and transporting surplus food, and distributing food to local community organisations and charities.
"We have a truck that works for any logistics company going to Durban from Johannesburg and they drop their good off in Durban. On the way back they're empty or they're half empty. So we're trying to develop a system whereby we can immediately call on in a digital way a truck and say we've got someone who's prepared to donate food from Harrismith so on the way they can just pop in to a Harrismith farmer, collect food and bring it to Johannesburg," he said.
