The Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying national lockdown have left many vulnerable families in need of food relief. In response to this need, the City of Cape-Town used R12 million in savings and partnered with about 60 local organisations to provide emergency food relief to vulnerable communities during the 2019-’20 financial year.
To continue supporting communities, the City’s Urban Management Directorate secured an additional R25 million for food relief during the 2020-’21 financial year, Alderman Grant Twigg Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Management, said. He said the directorate was busy applying logistics in seamlessly implementing the roll-out of the 2020-’21 food relief programme. “As a result of the severe impact of the national coronavirus lockdown, many residents have struggled to put food on the table,” Twigg said. “Despite the move to Alert Level 3, which led to the opening up of more economic sectors, the need for assistance remains, and we must continue to strengthen our support and compassion for our fellow residents.”
“These donations are intended to assist organisations feeding residents in need, said Executive Mayor Dan Plato, “and as a caring city we are doing all we can to help residents.”
He said the City of Cape Town is making strides to fill the gaps, capacitating neighbourhood soup kitchens to feed hundreds of residents in their various communities, and is very pleased to continue helping to feed local vulnerable communities.
Local communities are still feeling the impact of the pandemic, so the City has decided to continue its food relief programme worth R25 million for the 2020-’21 financial year, supporting families with food relief. “We will try to assist as far as we can,” Twigg said.
