We work in the poorest communities around our city, where hunger and malnutrition are rife. Health experts estimate that one out of every four children in South Africa suffers from some form of malnutrition. These conditions of malnutrition range from Marasmus, to Kwashiorkor, to stunting and wasting. On a national level, the greatest danger of hunger is that without adequate food, the children in our schools are unable to concentrate and to benefit from the education, which they are receiving. It was this concern which led President Mandela to establish School Feeding as a Presidential Lead project when he first came into office in 1994. Ensuring that the children in our country do not go to bed hungry, is the first step towards ensuring the future of our nation.

Conditions in the township areas around Cape Town are extremely harsh. Thousands of people live in makeshift homes - shacks made from wood and corrugated iron. Many areas have very few services: over 60 shacks often share one tap and one toilet. Rubbish removal systems, roads, electricity and other municipal provisions are non-existent in many cases. Levels of disease and malnutrition in such areas are high. Tuberculosis is the greatest killer in Cape Town. Without adequate nutrition, people cannot recover from this condition, even if they have the correct medication. Unemployment is close to 50%. People who do have work support extended families of up to ten people. The government pension is R600 per month.
The poverty datum line for the city has been put at R1070. Most people in the areas in which we work are living way below this poverty datum line.