THE DIS-CHEM FOUNDATION’S COMMUNITY
DISCHEM FOUNDATION[/caption]
THE DIS-CHEM FOUNDATION’S COMMUNITY FOOD GARDEN CHANGES LIVES
From providing healthy, delicious vegetables to creating entrepreneurial opportunities, food gardens can change lives in a sustainable way. A ground-breaking community gardening project – an initiative of the Dis-Chem Foundation – is doing exactly that in the Midrand (Johannesburg) area.
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This successful project donates fresh produce to various NGOs every week and is now expanding. In March 2014, its second phase will launch to involve and empower surrounding communities. The project will provide them with everything they need to grow their own nutritious vegetables and herbs – for home use or to sell.
Inspired to make a difference
The Dis-Chem Foundation was started by Dis-Chem Pharmacies to assist those in need. It receives about 8 000 requests from communities throughout South Africa every month. Over the years, it has noticed the need for food – from children’s organisations to old age homes – increasing significantly.
While the Foundation continues to support these organisations, it decided to also take action by investing in a food garden in Midrand, where Dis-Chem Pharmacies’ head office is based. The Foundation team was inspired by a journalist, who motivated her neighbours in Melville (Johannesburg) to plant vegetables on their pavements to help those in need.
5 000 people and counting
Dis-Chem already had the perfect location for the garden. In August 2013, the transformation of vacant land, owned by Dis-Chem and situated next to its head office, started. It was decided to employ natural methods and methodology, without the use of artificial fertilisers or insecticides. Good vegetables provide good nutrition, without harming the environment. It is now a burgeoning vegetable garden that already provides food for more than
5 000 people.
The garden team, which includes 12 community members who have been employed full time, grows and shares a wide selection of vegetables and herbs with various organisations. They include the African Children’s Feeding Scheme, Feed SA and various NGOs in Alexandra. What’s more, the team aims to double the garden’s produce in the next few months.
The next phase
The project has proven so successful that a second phase was in order. During this phase, members of neighbouring communities, including Diepsloot and Ivory Park, will receive allotments in which to grow their own vegetables, for them and for the community, as well as training, tools and seedlings. The Foundation will also provide them with tips on ways to prepare the produce to ensure maximum nutritional benefits.
The right to food is a human right recognised under international law. It protects the right of all human beings to feed themselves in dignity, either by producing their food or by purchasing it. The Dis-Chem Foundation – which has been in operation since 2005 with more than one million people benefiting from its various programmes – believes that this project will contribute to communities food security by providing a sustainable source of nutrition.
Says Lynette Saltzman of the Dis-Chem Foundation: “The success of this vegetable garden has exceeded all our expectations. What was formerly a forlorn and empty piece of land has been transformed into a thriving food garden that will actively change lives and contribute towards an overall sense of community.”
The Dis-Chem Foundation
The Dis-Chem Foundation provides care and support to improve the lives of individuals through organisations and in this way relieves the burden on communities, families and friends.
The Dis-Chem Foundation is a beneficiary of Dis-Chem Pharmacies‘ Benefits Programme, whereby members earn points, or savings, on what they spend at Dis-Chem Pharmacies and a percentage of the value purchase is donated to the Dis-Chem Foundation. Points can be earned by using the Dis-Chem Benefits card available in Dis-Chem stores nationwide.
DIS-CHEM PHARMACISTS WHO CARE
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