Foundation needs help to complete dream of building SA’s first not-for-profit food factory

Johannesburg - World Cup winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and his wife Rachel, accompanied by former president Nelson Mandela’s long-time personal assistant Zelda Le Grange, recently teamed up with a not-for-profit organisation to commemorate Madiba’s birthday.

The Kolisi Foundation, Le Grange and the Inani Start Well Foundation supported over 600 beneficiaries with food parcels as part of their Mandela Day initiative.

The parcels, they said, could support a family of six for at least a month during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Inani is in the process of building the country’s first not-for-profit whole food factory in South Africa. This food factory’s sole purpose is to manufacture nutrient-dense morning meals at low costs for children from poverty-stricken communities.

They have created a solution to childhood stunting and malnutrition, which is a harsh reality for many young children from poor families.

Childhood stunting also affects a child’s ability to learn, develop and ultimately grow into their full potential.

Bonang Mohale, the former CEO of Business leadership SA said: “Investing in a stunting free South Africa should be everybody’s business”

The Inani organisation said the need for providing children with nutritious meals was heightened during the Covid-19 lockdown. It said the effects of Covid-19 on childhood stunting rates were already astronomical and were continuing to grow as children were deprived of nutritious food.

Org van der Wath, the executive director of the Inani Start Well Foundation, said: “Due to the low profit margins, traditional financing institutions are not interested in assisting us with loan funding. We have already secured 65% of the required capital and need your assistance to make our dream a reality," he said.

The foundation said it needed donations to help raise capital to make the country’s first wholefood factory a reality.

To become part of the project and lend a hand, visit www.inaniswf.org

IOL