A new local non-profit company aimed at providing nutritionally balanced meals for children was launched with the recent opening of a production facility in Wellington Industria.
The company, named 2nd Harvest, supports communities, ECD crèches, NGOs and soup kitchens in the Winelands District by providing them with balanced meals.
Through this, the company actively assists in eradicating the hunger issues the community is facing. For its efforts to have maximum effect they need the backing of the entire community, said Western Cape MEC for Social Development Sharna Fernandez, who officially opened the factory at a ceremony last week.
She said she welcomed non-profit initiatives such as 2nd Harvest that help alleviate poverty.
The company’s long-term vision is to feed the hungry by providing 50 000 meals a day, an otherwise impossible goal that can be made possible through opening 10 distribution centres.
It is proven that children who do not receive regular nutritious meals cannot learn properly.
2nd Harvest has developed a “smart breakfast for children” designed to sustain energy levels and increase productivity and brain development.
The company will also manufacture a few spreads – peanut, fruit and cheese – at this facility, which also has a bakery that will produce 1 000 bread loaves per day, to be sent out to communities.
“2nd Harvest is actively trying to assist in eradicating hunger issues the community is facing,” Fernandez pointed out. “The work completed by organisations such as this cannot be understated, as they are providing essential services for the most vulnerable in our society, children, who need them most.
“In today’s tough economic climate we are witnessing far higher incidences of hunger and poverty, especially among our children.”
Fernandez said that early childhood development is a crucial aspect of human development, since it serves as an important driver of economic welfare and poverty reduction, and the right nutrition in the early childhood development phases can have a profound impact on a child’s ability to learn.
She added that the Western Cape Department of Social Development, this year, highlighted the importance of child services.
“We need a whole-of-society approach, to facilitate a nurturing, caring and safe environment for children not only to survive, but be physically healthy, mentally alert, emotionally secure, socially competent and be able to learn,” Fernandez said.
“From the time the baby is in the mother’s womb, and through its early childhood, its environment and the relationships it has with parents, caregivers and other adults have a significant impact on its development – socially, cognitively and emotionally.
“I want to urge parents to find out more about how they can help their children prepare for school, and to make as much time as possible to read to them and play educational games with them.
“While this government is committed to doing everything possible to increase the quality and reach of ECD, we need parents, guardians and caregivers to help us turn this province – and this country – into an international success story. Through this partnership we can make our children’s lives better together.”
