How a good idea became great and is now getting even better. In just four years a feeding project that reached 800 people a day near Sedgefield has grown to feed 550 times that number & provide meals to communities as far away as the Klein Karoo,
Now it has expanded again with 440 000 people fed, 320 000 meals provided across communities and 1.5 tonnes of carp provided with each delivery
During the Covid lockdown in 2020 an innovative collaboration started between the Gift of the Givers, Cape Nature, Invasive Fish Species Management and, later, the Oceana Group, the global fishing and food processing company which owns the familiar Lucky Star brand.
It simultaneously addressed two problems – invasive carp fish in Garden Route fresh-water lakes and hunger in disadvantaged communities which, at the time, was compounded by the lockdown.
It began at Groenvlei Lake near Sedgefield and it soon proved a great success. The ecological
balance of the lake improved as the carp were caught. Then the founding partners were keen to grow the project, but health regulations require that table-fresh fish must be stored between 0ºC and 9ºC. So the fish couldn’t be transported very far, which restricted the reach of the project.
At the time Oceana was training small-scale fishers in the area, so the Give of the Givers asked if the group could help. The solution was a mobile freezer that is towed behind a bakkie, and its impact has been enormous. It has provided meals to 440 000 people in communities as far afield as Oudtshoorn, Uniondale, George and Plettenberg Bay. The next constraint was the quantity of fish that could be caught. Oceana again agreed to help, providing a custom-made boat.
The boat significantly increased the number of fish they could catch and extended the project to four other lakes. Oceana CEO Neville Brink said harvesting invasive aliens was a good idea and providing the fish to hungry communities elevated it to a brilliant idea.
“The mobile freezer was a simple, practical way to expand the reach of the project. The boat is the next evolution in this project that has exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, Gift of the Givers founder, said the project and partnership with Oceana will enable its food security programmes to reach even more families in the Southern Cape.
“Sadly, many South African families still go to bed hungry. Now that our teams are able to catch a much larger quantity of fish – providing a nutritious and valuable source of fresh protein to these families while positively impacting on the fragile ecological balance of the lakes in the region.”
